A businessman submitted forged documents in order to get Security Industry Authority (SIA) approval so he could provide cover for a football club.

John Arthur Radley, of Maidenhead, Berks, was sentenced at Reading Crown Court following after admitting fraud last November.

He was prosecuted for repeatedly providing fraudulent contracts and invoices to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) for an application he made to them in August 2018 for his business to become an SIA approved contractor.

Now he is required to complete a 12-month community order comprising 60-hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

Radley is also required to pay £600 prosecution costs over a 12-month period.

The sentencing followed additional hearings where Mr Radley sought permission to retract his earlier guilty plea. This application was rejected by the court.

Radley pleaded guilty to the court to fraud by false representation to the SIA when he submitted a falsified contract for the provision of security operatives to a football club.

On 25 September 2018 he met with SIA investigators and re-submitted the fraudulent contracts and invoices that showed the provision of security operatives under contract.

In December 2018 Radley was requested to provide the SIA with additional information. He failed to provide all of the required information to the SIA and some of the documents that he did supply were fraudulent.

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Mark Chapman, one of the SIA’s criminal investigations managers, said:”Radley sought to have his business accredited with the SIA’s Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) by fraudulent means.

“The ACS provides a recognised hallmark of quality within the private security industry. The SIA’s licensing regime exists to protect the public and the ACS is an independently assessed scheme that confirms a company has achieved and supplies a high standard of security.

“He sought to circumvent these rigorous processes and cheat both the SIA and his customers by purporting to be an SIA approved contractor. We will actively pursue and look to prosecute security businesses who claim to be approved by us when they are not.”

By law, security operatives working under contract must hold and display a valid SIA licence.