File on 4 Investigates

Latest Episodes:

Mental Health Profiteers Sep 21, 2021

Show notes

Mental health profiteers: The dark world of online anxiety ‘cures’. Jane Deith and Jordan Dunbar investigate the rogue operators exploiting the long wait for mental health services on the NHS. The explosion in unregulated online recovery programmes has led to claims of people paying thousands of pounds for treatment by unqualified practitioners which has made their anxiety worse – not better. File on 4 investigates one company guaranteeing to cure anxiety in children. And we ask – why isn’t the law protecting people who seek help online?

Hush Money: the Rise and Fall of an International Fraudster Sep 14, 2021

Show notes

File on 4 reveals the inside story of Ramon Abbas, one of a new breed of prolific global cyber fraudsters. As Abbas awaits sentencing in the US for money-laundering, File on 4 asks if enough is being done to protect us from online criminals operating across international borders.

Snared by the FBI in 2020, Abbas is better known as Instagram influencer Hushpuppi, who flaunted a life of designer clothes, private jets and penthouse apartments to millions of followers. Little did they know that his lavish lifestyle was funded through a complex web of cyber-heists. He even had a hand in an audacious attempt to steal £100 million from a Premier League Football Club. Most cyber-criminals remain nameless, faceless, anonymous and all but untraceable. Now, File on 4 unmasks Ramon Abbas, revealing a complicated, sometimes ruthless character driven by a thirst for wealth and celebrity status.

In addition, we expose the inner workings of a clandestine operation that earned him a reputation as the world’s most high-profile money-launderer.

Reporters: Paul Connolly and Princess Abumere Producer: Helen Clifton Editor: Maggie Latham

Tackling Online Abuse in Football Sep 07, 2021

Show notes

When three black England footballers missed penalties in the Euro 2020 football final they were bombarded with online racist abuse. The Football Association condemned the ‘offensive and racist’ messages saying it was ‘appalled’ and would do everything it could to assist Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka. File on 4 examines what many describe as institutional racism within the game and amongst supporters and asks what, if anything, is being done to stop it from happening? With access to new analysis charting the peaks and flows of online abuse, the programme explores who is really behind some of the most egregious comments. Arrests have been made in the wake of the Euro 2020 game but what long-term measures are in place to eradicate this poisonous behaviour which has spread from the terraces to online platforms with little in place to stop it.

Reporter: Athar Ahmad Producer: Mick Tucker Editor: Carl Johnston

Held to Ransom Jul 13, 2021

Show notes

The extraordinary story of a UK schools group which took on a cyber ransomware gang.

The Harris Federation seems an unlikely target for ransomware criminals but it found itself at the centre of a cyber attack by anonymous hackers. With its servers down and a ransom demand of nearly £3 million, school leaders had to decide quickly whether to pay or suffer the consequences. File on 4 has unique access to the extraordinary negotiations that took place behind the scenes, involving an Israeli security company and Russian hackers.

More British institutions are being hit by ransomware gangs than ever before, from multi-national corporations to health care trusts and even schools.

The attackers hack into an organisation's computer system, encrypt the data and demand a ransom to get it back. Increasingly, they also threaten to publish sensitive information if no payment is made. It's known as double extortion.

The former head of the National Cyber Security Centre tells File on 4 that the government needs to intervene as a matter of urgency, and make it illegal to pay ransomware gangs.

Presenter: Paul Kenyon Producer: Paul Grant Editor: Nicola Addyman

Acts of Abuse Jul 06, 2021

Show notes

Allegations of bullying and sexual harassment against the actor and film maker Noel Clarke have led to an industry-wide examination of the culture within the film and television business. Industry insiders describe an environment where those in power can be bullying and demanding, where sexual harassment is commonplace and where victims are afraid to speak up because they fear losing work. File on 4 has heard from hundreds of people who work in the industry who paint a disturbing picture of the culture where intimidation, bullying and sexual misconduct is often overlooked. The programme asks if the industry is equipped to tackle this bad behaviour, whether new regulation is needed and whether it is serious about cleaning up its act.

Reporter: Livvy Haydock Producer: Helen Clifton Editor: Carl Johnston

A Death Sentence? Jun 29, 2021

Show notes

A death sentence? The inmates dying after poor prison healthcare. More prisoners are dying in jail – even after you account for the growing - and ageing -prison population. Many of those found to be so-called ‘natural cause deaths’ are relatively young: more than a third are aged between 35 and 54. Those who’ve been behind bars a short time are at greatest risk…with health records often not consulted and vital medication delayed, sometimes for months. File on 4 investigates cases where failings in the prison healthcare system contributed to the deaths of inmates – all aged under 50. Their deaths followed basic, shocking, errors: unopened medical records, hospital appointments missed, prisoners not given vital medication - or given the wrong medication that made their condition worse. Prisoners who became gravely ill accused of ‘faking it’. The programme hears from the family of prisoners, a prison health worker who’s concerned about a lack of resources and the impact of measures to contain Covid. And from experts who say recommendations made time and time again following avoidable deaths simply aren’t being implemented – putting more prisoners at risk in the future.

Reporter: Jane Deith Producer: Ben Robinson Editor: Nicola Addyman

Contracts of Interest Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an urgent need for a range of new government contracts which resulted in billions of pounds of public money being spent under emergency powers which suspended usual procurement rules around competition.

This new regime created an unprecedented situation where commercial firms were able to secure large contracts quickly. But did this mean that money was spent without due diligence, regard for transparency - and potentially value for the taxpayer?

In a joint investigation with The Guardian and the non-profit investigative organisation Source Material, File on 4 investigates whether some firms were given preferential treatment when lucrative contracts were being awarded.

Reporter: Paul Connolly Producer: Anna Meisel Editor: Gail Champion

Above the law? Jun 15, 2021

Show notes

Since reporting on a story about police abuses earlier this year reporter Anna Adams has been inundated with calls and messages from women all telling her the same thing; they were a victim at the hands of a police officer. For File on 4 Anna investigates the failures of police forces to properly manage and investigate accused officers within their own ranks. Many of the women she speaks to are police officers themselves

Reporter: Anna Adams Producer: Kate West & Mick Tucker Editor: Gail Champion

The Cost of Care Jun 08, 2021

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File on 4 investigates the new challenges of providing home care during the Covid-19 pandemic - with some recipients seeing their care costs increased while their hours are reduced.

Exploring reports of financial assessments being neglected, and allegations that people's basic needs are not being met, we ask if some of society’s most vulnerable are being made to shoulder the cost of local council funding gaps.

Producer: Michael Cowan Reporter: Claire Bolderson Editor: Maggie Latham

Leaseholder Losses Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

The government recently introduced new laws to protect leaseholders from large ground rent increases. But campaigners say more widespread changes are needed to properly protect the millions of leaseholders in England and Wales.

The cladding scandal has highlighted just how few rights leaseholders have when it comes to what happens to the buildings they live in. Felicity Hannah discovers there are many other issues they face.

A change in planning law means freeholders can now build extra apartments on top of blocks of flats without having to get planning permission. While such developments could bring in millions of pounds for landlords, the leaseholders can't object and in some cases could see the value of their homes plummet. Felicity speaks to residents who say one such development has turned their lives into a nightmare

Other leaseholders have been left reeling after their council landlord landed them with estimated bills of over £100,000 for improvements to their homes. Under the rules, the homeowners can't challenge the costs and some fear they could have to sell up.

Many people are now asking: is the current leasehold system fit for purpose?

Reporter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Paul Grant Editor: Gail Champion

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