CPS pair face jail over £1m taxi scams

Finance manager Lisa Burrows and officer worker Tahir Mahmood were warned to expect “inevitable” jail terms after pleading guilty to fraud by abuse of position at Birmingham Crown Court.

Burrows, 41, of Oldbury, West Midlands, and Mahmood, 50, from Hodge Hill, Birmingham, are believed to have used the proceeds of the five-year scam to pay off a mortgage and fund trips to Dubai.

The pair, who will be sentenced in July, showed no obvious sign of emotion as they admitted conning the CPS out of £1,021,475 by producing invoices for a fictitious cab firm purporting to cater for witnesses.

Prosecutor Brian Dean told the court that investigators were still attempting to trace the proceeds of the fraud.

Asking Judge Nicholas Webb for the case to be adjourned until July 4, the barrister said ongoing inquiries into international bank accounts were being made by the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

It was possible, Mr Dean said, that Mahmood had used £120,000 to clear a mortgage, while Burrows was thought to have visited Dubai on many occasions.

Malcolm McHaffie, deputy head of special crime for the CPS, said: “This was a significant fraud of at least £1,000,000 and those responsible have now been brought to justice.”