The FCA has begun criminal proceedings against three former employees of Redcentric Plc: Fraser Fisher, former Chief Executive; Timothy Coleman, former Chief Financial Officer; and Estelle Croft, a former finance director.
Mr Fisher, Mr Coleman and Ms Croft have each been charged with two counts of making a false or misleading statement, contrary to Section 89(1) of the Financial Services Act 2012.
Mr Coleman has further been charged with four counts of false accounting, contrary to Section 17(1)(a) of the Theft Act 1968; one count of making a false or misleading statement to an auditor contrary to Section 501 of the Companies Act 2006; and one count of fraud by false representation, contrary to Sections 1 and 2 of the Fraud Act 2006.
Ms Croft has also been charged with seven counts of making a false or misleading statement to an auditor contrary to Section 501 of the Companies Act 2006, and four counts of false accounting, contrary to Section 17(1)(a) of the Theft Act 1968.
The alleged offending took place between 1 May 2015 and 31 October 2016.
Mr Fisher, Mr Coleman, and Ms Croft appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 23 September 2020.
Making a false or misleading statement is a criminal offence punishable, on conviction, by a fine and/or up to 7 years’ imprisonment.
Notes to editors
- Fraser Fisher’s date of birth 26 March 1970; Timothy Coleman’s date of birth 3 November 1964; Estelle Croft’s date of birth 12 July 1972.
- Redcentric is an IT service provider. It provides network, cloud and collaboration services to private and public sector organisations, including the NHS. On 26 June 2020, the FCA issued a public censure to Redcentric for market abuse.
- The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 gives the FCA powers to investigate and prosecute making a false or misleading statement, defined by Financial Services Act 2012.
- On 1 April 2013, the FCA became responsible for the conduct supervision of all regulated financial firms and the prudential supervision of those not supervised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
- The FCA has an overarching strategic objective of ensuring the relevant markets function well. To support this, it has 3 operational objectives: to secure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers; to protect and enhance the integrity of the UK financial system; and to promote effective competition in the interests of consumers.
