Four face learning fraud charges

The ILA scheme was abandoned amid allegations of potential fraud

Four men have been charged over an alleged £2m fraud relating to a failed government learning scheme.

The Individual Learning Account (ILA) programme was suspended in 2001 amid allegations of abuse.

Cleveland Police said the four men, from Teesside, Staffordshire and Birmingham, had been charged with offences of conspiracy to defraud.

The charges follow a five-year probe sparked by a complaint by the then Department for Education and Skills.

Ajaib Singh, 52, Harpal Toor, 25, both from Ingleby Barwick, Teesside, Lashman Chatha, 35 from Colton, Staffordshire, and Paul Atherton, 45, from Birmingham, were all jointly charged with conspiracy to defraud government departments.

Discounted rates

Mr Atherton faces a further similar charge, together with others from the Leicestershire area.

A Cleveland Police spokesman said: "The charges relate to the conduct of several, mainly Middlesbrough-based companies, dating back to July 2001 and involve thousands of students who enrolled with various companies.

"The total cost of the alleged fraud is in excess of £2m."

The ILA scheme was launched by the government in 2000, with the aim of promoting life-long learning.

It enabled people to sign-up for educational courses at discounted rates, with individuals being allowed up to £200 towards the costs of a course.

However, the scheme was found to be open to abuse and was scrapped in November 2001.

The four men are due to appear before Teesside magistrates in Middlesbrough on 28 February.