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A woman endured seven years of hell which saw her lose her business, life savings and contemplate taking her life, after being wrongly charged with fraud.
Krista Brown was horrified when she was suddenly arrested in January 2017 by HMRC officers while her teenage son watched in the hallway.
The 52-year-old grandmother spent six years with the allegations hanging over her, with her trial delayed multiple times until the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the case in October 2023, with the prosecutors offering “no evidence”.
Seven years later, the CPS has apologised “unreservedly” in a three-page letter, admitting she had been “clearly let down” and that the decision to charge her did not meet the required standards.
Speaking to The Independent, Ms Brown said: “I’ve got the outcome I wanted but I’m heartbroken as it’s proven that I went through all of that for eight years for nothing. That’s a hard pill to swallow.
“There really are people who get caught up in the justice system and they’re innocent. I’ve spent £27,000 on legal fees, my life savings are completely gone and I’m now in debt – the impact is very real.”
After years of working in security and events, the east London grandmother had established her own business in 2008 with just £1,000 in the front room of her Hackney home. Over the years, her recruitment company, Persona, had developed into a £2m business with 400 staff and had successfully provided employment to 3,000 young offenders.
In 2014 an accountant was sacked over financial issues, and an agreement was made with HM Revenue & Customs to repay unpaid tax in instalments.
“We cleared all of the debts, I went without a salary for months and we never missed a payment or were late in delivering a payment,” she said.
Despite this, she was arrested “out of the blue” in 2017 and questioned at a police station for hours after being accused of fraud by false representation, money laundering and cheating the public revenue.
Upon being released on unconditional bail and surrendering her passport, she went months with “no communication” from HMRC, despite repeatedly emailing to ask for updates.
In February 2020, she was eventually charged on three counts, which she denied, and began the process of navigating the judicial system, on occasion without legal representation and dealing with constant delays in her case.
“Psyching yourself to go through all of that for it to be continually cancelled, and receive constant knockbacks, I don’t know how anyone’s mental health is supposed to get through that,” she said.
She set up a social media account under the pseudonym The Secret Defendant on Twitter/X, in which she wrote about her experience of dealing with the criminal justice system and asked for advice.
“I was suicidal at my worst,” she says, becoming emotional. “I’m a real joie de vivre person, I’m positive, I’m nice. I’m not somebody that hates life. I just didn’t want to hear another word, I just wanted it all to stop.”
Her trial was adjourned twice which increased her distress, with the CPS admitting that their “actions contributed to this delay”.
She was also offered multiple plea deals if she admitted her guilt, despite adamantly insisting that she was innocent. In their apology letter, the CPS acknowledged this should not have happened, and that the management of disclosure of evidence in her case did not comply with the obligations under the relevant legislation.
After preparing herself for a third trial date at Snaresbrook Crown Court in October 2023, she was informed that prosecutors had dropped the charges, after deciding the legal case was no longer met.
It took six months and three complaints for her to receive her acquittal certificate, and through the encouragement of her barrister and friends, she met with Meg Hillier, the Labour MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, who agreed to escalate her complaint to the CPS.
In the three-page letter sent to her home address, the public prosecutor said: “Overall, the CPS recognises that the handling of this case and associated decisions, including charging, disclosure and ongoing review, did not meet the standards set out in the Code and that the case should have been stopped much earlier. We fully accept that you have been let down by the CPS and again apologise.”
Describing it as an “exceptional decision” to respond, the CPS said that they have taken steps to address the concerns raised and take “accountability”, and that it has led to the implementation of refresher training.
A CPS spokesperson told The Independent: “We unreservedly apologise to Ms Brown for the distress caused by the handling of her case.
“We recognise that the handling of this case and associated decisions did not meet our standards and the case should have been stopped much earlier.
“This is why we have already taken steps to address the concerns raised by identifying lessons learned and implementing changes on the oversight and scrutiny of our case strategies.”
An HMRC spokesperson said: “We take all reports of suspected tax evasion extremely seriously and we thoroughly analyse and investigate them, but the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) decides which cases should be prosecuted.”
Ms Brown, who now works for the NHS and has successfully opened a food bank for struggling families, is now hoping to meet with the justice secretary Shabana Mahmood.
“As much as I’ve processed and am healing, this has changed me for life,” she said. “You cannot even begin to understand the mental impact this has had on me. I’m a hard-grafting mum from the East End; to lose it all and go on benefits, that was a lot for me.”
She added: “For them to admit that it was wrong and to admit it in black and white, that’s an overwhelming feeling for me. While I got my certificate of acquittal earlier this year, this letter has vindicated me at last.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The new government inherited a record and rising Crown Court backlog, delaying and denying justice for far too many victims.
“While we are bound by our financial inheritance, we are committed to bearing down on the Crown Court backlog. As first steps, we have increased the number of days the court can hear cases to 106,500 and extended magistrates’ court sentencing powers from six to 12 months – freeing up 2,000 days so courts can handle the most serious cases. The government is exploring further options to deliver swifter justice in our courts.”
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email [email protected], or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
Source: independent.co.uk
