Commercial Services

Andrew Massey – Corporate Fraud Team Manager

Andrew is a very accomplished Local Authority Investigator with over 25 years of experience investigating many types of fraud at Stoke on Trent City Council ranging from relatively simple cases such as Council Tax discounts to much more complex frauds involving internal and procurement frauds across various departments and reporting to all levels of management. He is both PINS qualified and latterly ACFS. In his role as Corporate Fraud Manager Andrew is also responsible for the day to day running of the fraud team. Andrew has also provided fraud awareness presentations to a range of different departments. In addition to his extensive investigative experience Andrew also has wide ranging IT knowledge and is the first point of call not only for advice on investigations but also for any technical and IT queries that the team has. Most recently Andrew has been instrumental in the implementation and now in the running of the council’s new Fraud Case Management System.

Rich Finlow – Corporate Fraud Investigator

Richard has been an investigator with the Corporate Fraud Team since August 2017. Prior to his appointment Richard served for over 31 years as a Police Officer with Staffordshire Police working in a variety of roles and at different ranks, completing his service as a Detective Chief Inspector. Whilst with Staffordshire Police he gained extensive investigatory experience as an accredited Senior Investigating Officer dealing with serious and complex crime. During his time with the Corporate Fraud Team Richard has conducted a wide range of internal and external investigations including a number of complex and sensitive cases. Richard has also completed successful investigations for external organisations on behalf of Stoke City Council, resulting in prosecution or other sanctions.

Ron Price - Corporate Fraud Investigator

Ron joined the Corporate Fraud Team as an investigator in February 2017. He has a wealth of investigative experience having been a Detective Constable with Staffordshire police for 32 years, serving mainly in the CID and MID (Major Investigation Department). Consequently he has an excellent working knowledge of criminal law, investigation procedures, suspect handling, interview procedures and prosecution file preparation. Ron has been responsible for a large number of complex and varied investigations for Stoke City Council leading to successful outcomes including prosecutions.

Michael Bailey - Corporate Fraud Investigator

Michael joined the Corporate Fraud Team as an investigator in January 2020. He has worked for the local authority for over 26 years the last 12 years of which as an Investigation Officer. Michael previously worked as an investigation Officer for the local authorities Environmental Crime Unit before joining the Corporate Fraud Team. Michael has years of investigative experience covering a wide variety of legislation. Michael has gained further excellent working knowledge of criminal law, investigation procedures, suspect handling, interview procedures and prosecution file preparation. Michael has been responsible for a large number of complex and varied investigations for Stoke City Council leading to successful outcomes including prosecutions.

Fiona Watton – Investigation Support Officer

Fiona is an Accredited Counter Fraud Technician (ACFT) with 29 years’ experience in local government. Since joining the Corporate Fraud Team in 2010, from a background in Revenues and Benefits, Fiona has developed a wealth of knowledge and gained extensive experience in all aspects of local authority counter fraud investigations including formal recorded interviews, evidence gathering – particularly with regards to social media and the National Fraud Initiative. More recently she has taken on the responsibility for the investigation of suspicious applications under the Right to Buy (RTB) scheme and has realised significant financial savings for the authority by preventing fraudulent RTB purchases.

Martin Hassall – Intelligence & Support Officer

Following school, college & university (BA Honours in English Literature) Martin has worked in retail, the Stoke-on-Trent City Archives before joining the Corporate Fraud Team in 2011. Martin has developed an excellent overall understanding of the counter fraud processes and investigative work. His role includes providing administrative support for the Corporate Fraud Team and includes the assessment of all fraud referrals to ensure they are suitable for investigation, as well as the setting up, and allocation of, all new investigations. He is also the liaison officer between the council and the DWP Fraud Investigation Service with regards to the Local Authority Information Exchange process.