alert-icon@2xalert-icon@2xion-close-round - Ionicons- white@2x Skip to content
Report online For non emergencies
Call 999 For emergency calls only
Call 999 For emergency calls only
Call 101 For all non emergencies
Call 101 For All non emergencies
                                                                                 
Posted on Thursday 23 September 2021
David SLAVEN

JAILED: David Slaven

A conman who falsely claimed more than £39,000 in benefits and spent the money on foreign holidays and expensive jewellery has been jailed.

David Slaven stole victims’ personal data to set up fake bank accounts and hijacked the bank account of another victim into which fraudulent benefits claims were paid.

Slaven then transferred the money into his and his partner’s own accounts and used the money to fund foreign holidays, and buy high-value jewellery and food and drink.

Following a complex and lengthy police investigation, Slaven – who is also known as David Boyes – was charged with fraud offences.
The 41-year-old denied the offences before changing his plea to guilty on the day his trial was due to start.

Slaven, of Darlington, was due to appear at Teesside Crown Court in June for sentencing but failed to attend.

A warrant was issued for his arrest and he appeared back at court yesterday where he was jailed for 25 months.

Detective Sergeant Liam Robertson, of Darlington CID, led the investigation. “The defendant has knowingly subverted money destined to help support those truly in need,” he said.

“This was money that has genuinely been taken from families and individuals that are struggling to make ends meet and means that hard working taxpayers have had to further fund the deficit - all so that this person can enjoy a more extravagant lifestyle at their expense without contributing to society.

“The methods Slaven used to commit these offences, by stealing personal details, has left victims unable to secure mortgages on their own homes due to the impact on their credit ratings.

“A case like this highlights the value of personal data to criminals and I cannot emphasise enough how import it is to protect personal information. I would urge people to be vigilant with their personal information, destroying private letters correctly and in particular, when moving house, to ensure their address is updated with all companies sending correspondence.”

Search news