Star of "Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away!" Teams Up With Fraudulent Ex-Solicitor

Paul_Varjak

A former Police Officer who is now employed as a High Court Enforcement Officer with DCBL and stars on the Channel 5 TV Programme, "Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away!" became a co-director of JAFLAS (a charity) in March 2020, despite the fact the charity has had no income for four years (according to its accounts)

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/GIa6HzkFxpt9mv8iMPWhcpNjwL4/appointments
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07539893


JAFLAS was incorporated in 2011 by a solicitor-advocate who remains its 'Director General' despite being struck-off the Solicitors Roll in July 2013 for numerous breaches of Solicitors' rules and, in January 2020, was convicted of benefit fraud.

https://www.solicitorstribunal.org.uk/sites/default/files-sdt/11428.2015.Blacker.Judgment.pdf
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/alan-blacker-benefit-fraud-rochdale-17548129

Is the High Court Enforcement Officer really so naive to have been 'taken-in' by this fraudster who was described by one Judge as a character out of "Harry Potter" and by a second Judge as "Walter Mitty" and a "deluded fantasist"?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2740327/Lawyer-dubbed-Harry-Potter-judge-wearing-medals-stitched-robe-investigated-claims-fake.html
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/alan-blacker-benefit-fraud-rochdale-17548129

Please don't get involved with JAFLAS, its deluded Director General or anyone else representing the charity/company.

hollydays

If your aim is for people to find this with a google search, it would be helpful if you added keywords regarding the charities activities.

MothballsWallet

It seems the OP encounters a lot of solicitors with questionable (to them) practices?

Paul_Varjak

MothballsWallet said:

It seems the OP encounters a lot of solicitors with questionable (to them) practices?

I agree that many solicitors can (subjectively) have questionable practices but a few solicitors (such as the one referred to above) go far beyond what is acceptable to their regulatory body, the criminal courts and for the effect it has on their clients.

Paul_Varjak

EXCLUSIVE 'Lord Harley' teams up with star of Can't Pay We'll Take It Away

By Jamie Hamilton
15 May 2020

PB, the star of the Channel 5 reality show Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away!, has teamed up with AB, the former 'Harry Potter' solicitor who was stuck off and convicted of benefit fraud, to run AB's charity.

Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away! followed the adventures of PB and his team of High Court Enforcement Officers as they sought to recover debts on behalf of private clients. The Channel 5 hit saw PB attending the evictions of hoarders, dinner ladies and army veterans, as well as attempting to extract cash from former professional footballer NR for outstanding dog kennel fees.

But PB has branched out from showbiz to become a director of 'JAFLAS', the charity AB founded in 2000 as the 'Joint Armed Forces Legal Advocacy Service'.

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TV show pitch #1

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JAFLAS underwent a revamp in 2019 and widened its remit from supporting military types, to the provision of "free legal advice and assistance service and help those [sic] who are the most vulnerable in society".

Its website states that expertise is provided by "Dr AB The Lord Harley", who "offers a wide range of consulting services for several industries not least the legal and educational".

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Odd choice of video for the JAFLAS home page.

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Apparently JAFLAS was founded "to be the most successful, creative and ground-breaking legal advocacy and consulting agency in the United Kingdom for the socially disadvantaged". And according to JAFLAS, it has achieved those lofty objectives. JAFLAS is "proud to say that each year we have a bigger list of returning and new clients", its website states. Strangely, however, Charity Commission records show that it hasn't had any incomings or outgoings since 2016, when it received £300 over the year.

AB has a history of making bold claims. His old LinkedIn profile listed dozens of certifications (including 'Licensed Boiler Examiner'), and described him as a "Mozart of the courtroom" and "almost a national treasure".

AB suffered a series of professional setbacks after a judge asked why he had appeared in court dressed "like something out of Harry Potter". The subsequent media attention drew the eye of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and he was struck off, then made bankrupt, tried for disability benefit fraud, convicted, and handed a nine month suspended sentence.

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Pitch #2

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But although AB Can't Pay, PB has not Taken It Away. Instead the former debt collector has teamed up with the former solicitor to help people in arrears. It's an odd couple set-up crying out for the reality TV treatment, however PB did not respond to requests for a steer on when 'Bailiff and AB' will premiere.

Reprinted (with edits) with kind permission of the author

waamo

I'm not sure which one has the worst Barnet. The one with the dodgy syrup or the shady solicitor with the 80s rock look.

Paul_Varjak

Jsacker said:

To summarise, I am reluctant to drag Paul's name through the dirt here because it seems like he may be acting as a consultant for many companies and not necessarily looking to swindle people. That being said, you have achieved your aim in raising awareness about this Alan Blacker and for that I thank you

Even if a director's occupation is listed as CONSULANT on Companies House records, that does not absolve a director of any obligations imposed on him/her as a director under company law. As a director of JAFLAS (the company) he should also be a trustee of the charity, JAFLAS (the charity) but PB is not and neither is AB.

The Companies House record for JAFLAS states that PB is a HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. But PB is not an HCEO now and probably never has been. He was a HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT AGENT during his time at DCBL.

PB is also a director of HONEY TYE MEDIA PLC. You may want to look at the news coverage of his co-director at that company (who was also a co-star on Can't Pay We'll Take It Away)

Exemplar

OP seems to have a bit of an axe to grind here? Pity.

waamo

Jsacker said:

Exemplar said:

OP seems to have a bit of an axe to grind here? Pity.

True true, but in fairness I wouldn't want to take legal advice from a solicitor who had been struck off and who had been convicted of benefit fraud! So can't hold anything against them in terms of raising awareness!

The sheriff with the syrup has some interesting bed fellows too.