A £300,000 Dundee fraudster is being sought by police after he failed to turn up for his own trial in England.
Nazir Abdul Rashid Daud was absent when he was found guilty at Leicester Crown Court of selling fraudulent franchise licences to victims across the UK.
Despite a warrant being issued for his arrest after the conviction more than two weeks after his four-day trial, he remains at large.
The prosecution was brought following a probe by Leicestershire County Council’s trading standards team, which received statements from 18 victims.
The council said Daud, 58, was thought to have earned more than £300,000 in franchise licence fees.
He was last known to be living in Leicester but grew up in Dundee.
A close relative at Daud’s Broughty Ferry family home told The Courier they do not know where he is and have not heard from him recently.
A Leicestershire County Council spokesperson said its trading standards team has been in touch with their counterparts at Dundee City Council, as well as Police Scotland, “in an attempt to trace Mr Daud”.
Police Scotland was asked if they are looking for Daud in the Dundee area but told us to speak to Leicestershire Police, who told us to speak to Leicestershire County Council.
Fraud scheme
Leicester Crown Court heard Daud was the sole director of Payrolls Direct Limited, which he set up in 2014.
He had advertised franchise licences for a new cloud-based payrolls system, which he was selling for between £5,995 and £9,995.
Franchisees would sign up clients and process payroll for each employee of participating companies and Payrolls Direct would take 20% of the fee, with the franchisee keeping the rest.
Daud claimed buying a franchise licence would allow people to earn between £250 and £2,000 per month, depending on how much time they put into the business and how many clients they signed up.
Advertising for Payrolls Direct also promised franchisees initial training, ongoing unlimited support, marketing materials and networking opportunities with successful franchisees.
However, the court heard just one of 18 franchisees who spoke to trading standards during the investigation was able to sign up any clients, with promised help and training not provided and leaving them unable to use the payrolls system.
This led to the contract with clients being terminated.
Daud was convicted of three counts under the Fraud Act 2006 in relation to false representations made between 2015 and 2018, and a further charge of fraudulent trading under the Companies Act 2006.
Second accused man
Co-defendant Anthony Raybould, 65, was the first franchise licence holder but began working as a salesperson for Payrolls Direct, with the council saying he made false representations to victims about his earnings and having many clients.
He pled guilty to false representation under the Fraud Act 2006 and fraudulent trading under the Companies Act 2006.
The court heard Raybould earned in excess of £10,000 in commission payments.
He was given a 22-month suspended sentence for two years.
‘Financial turmoil’ for victims
A source close to the case told The Courier vulnerable single mothers, an ex-military man and young people starting out in their careers were among those swindled by Daud.
The court was told how many of the victims had taken out loans to pay for the initial franchise fee or used life savings.
Some had fallen into debt, given up their own employment and seen their mental health severely affected.
The judge was unable to sentence Daud in his absence but issued a warrant for his arrest.
An order was made under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover funds.
Appeal for information
Gary Connors, head of Leicestershire County Council Trading Standards Service, said: “This form of fraud provides a quick financial return for the perpetrators, leaving the victims in financial and emotional turmoil.
“We expect the cost of living crisis will provide greater openings for franchise fraudsters as people look for more openings to bring in much needed income.
“The franchise industry is unregulated as a sector and I would advise those seeking a new business opportunity to treat every success or income claim as totally unsubstantiated; if the seller cannot produce meaningful audited financial accounts of that success, move on.”
Anyone who has any information about the whereabouts of Nazir Daud is asked to contact Leicestershire Police on 101 or Leicestershire Trading Standards on 0116 305 8000.
Dundee business links
Daud created a business called Citylocal in Dundee in 2006.
An article from the time says he wanted to create a website providing information about tourism, entertainment, businesses, dating and the weather in Dundee – and that plans were underway to repeat the format in a “franchise operation around the world”.
In the same year, the BBC reported Daud’s launch of a mobile phone text messaging service which aimed to boost the quality of life for Muslims.
The article says the service, for which Daud charged £15 a month, sent daily uplifting messages to “spiritually enlighten” its users.
Users would be able to receive a host of different services, including messages from the Koran and daily prayers.
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