Identity fraudster uses fake SIA Close Protection Licence
Updated September 2026
Lee Brown, 29, of Belfast, pleaded guilty to five fraud offences following a prosecution by the Security Industry Authority (SIA).
The SIA licenses close protection operatives, sometimes known as bodyguards. Brown had given his employer an SIA Close Protection licence that belonged to another person with the same name. He then worked as a security guard and door supervisor for four months, until the licence expired.
Securigroup had noticed that the forged licence was an older version, and had reported it to the SIA. When the licence was checked, it was found to be fraudulent. Brown admitted that he had bought the fake SIA licence for £700.
Pete Easterbrook, the SIA's criminal investigation manager, said, "Lee Brown stole the identities of not one, but two genuine SIA licence holders to fraudulently gain employment. He assumed that the counterfeit licences he managed to obtain were of sufficient quality to allow him to operate within the security industry with impunity, however, he was wrong in this assumption".
George Conner, district judge at Laganside Magistrates' Court, said, "The Private Security Industry Act 2001 is there to protect the public. Those who work in the private security industry should be legitimately licenced."
How to minimise the risk
Check the licence with the SIA before you hire the person. Our SIA licence check confirms with the SIA itself whether the licence is valid. The British Standard BS7858 also sets out screening checks for people who work in licensed security roles. Our BS7858 security screening, for security companies and others, holds NSI Gold certification from the National Security Inspectorate.
Make sure the licence belongs to the person in front of you. The licence Brown gave his employer carried his name, but it belonged to another person with the same name. A name alone cannot tell those two people apart.
Look closely at the card itself. The SIA publishes the security features of a genuine licence card. Two of them are a raised name on the front, and a bar code on the back that should bring up the same licence number as shown on the front. A card that lacks those security features may be a fake SIA badge.
Similar cases from our own verification team's files are in Verification Chronicles.