A man who forged two character references to support his appeal against a potential refusal of an SIA licence has been fined, with a total of £904 to pay, the Security Industry Authority (SIA) said on Thursday 15 October.
What happened
At Highbury Magistrates Court on 30 September, he pleaded guilty to two offences under section 3 of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, knowingly using a false instrument. He was fined £180 per offence and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £144 and prosecution costs of £400.
He applied for an SIA licence in October 2025. The SIA asked him for two character references to support his appeal against a potential refusal because of a previous conviction. One reference claimed to be from a former employer, but he had never worked at the business. The other claimed to be from a doctor, but nobody with the name given was registered with the General Medical Council. Both were forged.
What the SIA said
Tara Moutray, the SIA's Criminal Investigations Manager, said: "We are committed to stopping any application for an SIA licence that is made dishonestly and prosecuting where appropriate." She said he had attempted to put the public's safety at risk by trying to obtain a licence illegally.
What is not in the record
The SIA does not say what the previous conviction was or which licence sector he applied for, and gives only his surname.
What it means for firms
This is Ops Con's reading, not SIA guidance.
Both references failed simple factual checks: he had never worked for the named employer, and no doctor with the name given was registered with the General Medical Council. Firms recruiting operatives should check any reference they rely on against the facts it asserts, and contact the referee through an independently found number or address, not the one on the reference.
A licence application that needs references because of a previous conviction is a prompt for more care, not less. The SIA does not say how the forgeries were detected.
