Judge commends Powys Council for teeth whitening scam investigation
A crown court judge has commended the work of an authority who helped shut down a multi million teeth whitening scam.
Officers from the Powys County Council’s trading standards service have received the commendation from His Honour Judge Harris-Jenkins, for the manner which they investigated, put together and delivered a case that saw three people prosecuted for selling unsafe teeth whitening products.
A three year nationwide investigation, Operation Gleam, began when the products were found being sold at the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells.
It ended in 2016, with Matthew Hargreaves, 46, and his parents John, 71 and Jean, 72, from Knutsford, Cheshire, being prosecuted.
They admitted fraud charges and the two men were jailed for 18 months, with Jean handed a suspended sentence.
Earlier this year, the service was also successful in its proceeds of crime action with the defendants ordered to pay back £1.6 million that they made from their criminality of face prison.
Senior trading standards officer Nikki Davies-Wheeler, accredited financial Investigator Des Fitzpatrick and solicitor for highways and enforcement Rob Brown all received commendations from Judge Harris-Jenkins, who also gave a general commendation to the team involved in Operation Gleam.
The news was announced at the full council meeting in Llandrindod Wells on Thursday.
Councillor James Evans, cabinet member for trading standards, said: “We take our responsibilities to protect consumers seriously so I’m delighted that the work of our trading standards service has been recognised by the crown court judge.
“Commendations from crown court judges are rare so for the officers and the service to receive is a huge testament to their professionalism and approach during Operation Gleam, which was one of the biggest cases undertaken by officers.”
