Sentencing tomorrow!

[Prayingmun]

Please do not judge, I'm going to court tomorrow to be sentenced. I have plead guilty to 3 x fraud by misrepresentation.

2 years ago, I was working for a sex chat website and took money from 3 different men and went on to talk to them away from the website. I know I did wrong.

I'm so nervous I have a 5 year old little girl, I've never been in trouble before but can't help think I'm going to prison! What will I do! Does anyone know what I should be packing? Maybe the wrong site for this but I am going to be awake all night...

Crusty, that is a slightly depressing view of society. If thee was no prospect if custodial sentences 'we'd all be at it'! I wouldn't! How ever I take your point re first offences.

No, you're right. We wouldn't all be at it. I have more integrity too, however, it doesn't take much to see that it would increase drastically.

Society and the people in it are complex but greed is a very powerful and sometimes it's only fear that is the stronger emotion.

Prison should be reserved for violent offenders, not desperate young women with children who can't pay their bills.

Says who? Prison isn't for violent offenders; it is for people who break the law. It doesn't travel to involve violence to be a serious enough crime for prisons. And why should 'young women with children' be above the law? What about old women with children? Or men with children? Or people with no children?

I don't think so. Say I am a cleaner. I work for cleaners r us. Three of my clients approach me and ask for direct cleaning. I say yes. Over three years I earn 15k from these three clients. Cleaners r us lose out on their commission, say 10k. They take me to court.

Well we do t k ow the details in OP case but I can almost guarantee it doesn't match this scenario.

@zoobincan
I imagine its more like

Say I am a cleaner.
I work for cleaners r us.
I quit cleaners r us but continue to clean for 3 of my clients.
The clients assume I am still working through cleaners r us
Over three years I earn 15k from these three clients.
Cleaners r us lose out on their commission, say 10k.
They take me to court

It's nothing like that. This is a serious fraud case.

@zoobincan are you the ops lawyer?
Shes written 2 posts. Saying she started talking to men through a website, then went on to talk to them away from the website, so the website lost their commission.

Actually it doesn't even say that the website are the ones taking her to court, but if the charge is fraud by misrepresentation then its either the website losing commission or the client thinking they were still under the website.

No not her lawyer. Obviously.

Saying she started talking to men through a website, then went on to talk to them away from the website, so the website lost their commission.

And at no point in the information given has she clarified the details of the charge (s)

She isn't going down for a few quid commission lost to a website.

We would have to know what area the poster is in, as local courts will show cases, and possibly the results afterwards too. I know someone said below that some don't come back in to tell the outcome, but I think those who were not sent down should, as they have bothered to come on here in the first place. Therefore are we to assume that the poster has been sent down ?! 😵

After reading posts that others have written, so the crime is fraud, because she then had outside contact with these three guys right? But they would have known wouldn't they? Otherwise how was the contact made? As if it was online the company would have got their commission, as my main understanding of all of this, as that is why she is being accused of fraud right?
I'm confused as to how, from one guys wife finding out, what then made them report to police, had she taken more than he thought? Or was he being a good sole and reporting because he thought contact was still through the company, I am a tad confused.

if the charge is fraud by misrepresentation then its either the website losing commission or the client thinking they were still under the website.

No. It could be a thousand other things. We don't know because OP hasn't said. But this isn't simply loss of commission.

Again, I am guessing in the terms and conditions, the company have stated that you must not make arrangements to have contact with anyone you meet through the site. Otherwise I can't see why it's fraud x 3, when the guys would know they were having contact away from the site, and have happily paid out, their money was still gone, whether part was taken by the firm and the rest by the worker, or all of it went to the worker!

Agree with @Redruby25, it is probably in the t&cs.

But also I agree with @zoobincan that £15000 is a hell of a lot for one count, so perhaps ops not been completely truthful.

It could be benefit fraud; OP merely mentions getting £15k from one man. So maybe the DWP caught up with her.

It could be credit card fraud. OP could have taken the details as she was speaking to the men offsite, and helped herself to funds.

Just 2 examples.

It absolutely won't be the fact that she told them she was still working for the site or that the site list commission. Not at this level.

LochJessMonster How could the client of thought that they were still under the website, as they would of had to of physically gone on to the app/website etc to make contact. But something has happened where one particular guy's wife has found out, and it's like the guy has then realised what was going on, and reported to police, I agree with what has been said previously, that not enough information has been given.

zoobincan True, as we know, 16k is allowed in savings, in the case of claiming benefits. Although I dare say she used money reasonably quickly, if she needed it that much, they can do checks, and would have seen money going in, if so.

zoobincan True, as we know, 16k is allowed in savings, in the case of claiming benefits. Although I dare say she used money reasonably quickly, if she needed it that much, they can do checks, and would have seen money going in, if so.

It's nothing to do with the savings limit. It was income. So it could be that it was undeclared income.

Everyone is just making the story up as they go along.
OP never gave enough info to even attempt to make an educated guess, so speculation is pointless.
I never expected to go to prison, no one involved in my case expected it. There were a LOT of women in prison when I was there who should never have been given a custodial sentence (there were lots who deserves it too), but I disagree with saying that incarnating women with children is wrong. It's not. If you commit a crime, as I did, you have to be prepared to take the consequences, no matter the who, what, why.

I wish the OP well

If you commit a crime, as I did, you have to be prepared to take the consequences, no matter the who, what, why.

Agreed. I've read this thread from the day it was posted. The OP pleaded guilty and if the punishment is a prison sentence then that's correct, regardless of job, home circumstances or gender.

She wasn't charged with benefit fraud.

She was selling, doing or promising something that was not going to be provided.

Like knowingly selling a glass ring as a diamond ring with the intent to defraud. These men expected something, which she offered and one was taken in over a long time.

cabbage

Probably not. I gave it as one of 2 examples of what it could have been. But you don't know any more than the rest of us, so it actually could have been benefit fraud.

She was selling, doing or promising something that was not going to be provided

Can you explain how you know this?

Because that is what the charge basically means

It's really not. Fraud by misrepresentation covers a huge array of things.

Taken from the Fraud Act 2005
Fraud by false representation (Section 2)
The defendant:
made a false representation dishonestly knowing that the representation was or might be untrue or misleading
with intent to make a gain for himself or another, to cause loss to another or to expose another to risk of loss.

Exactly. It can cover a huge amount of charges.