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ITV News
10-07-2025
- ITV News
Mother who hid stillborn babies in her Bridgend home given suspended prison sentence
A woman who concealed the remains of her two stillborn babies inside her home has been handed a suspended jail sentence. Egle Zilinskaite, 31, from Cardiff, hid the bodies of two full-term babies inside her home in Maes-Y-Felin, Wildmill, Bridgend, after she delivered them 'alone and without medical support', a court was told. Mother-of-five Zilinskaite concealed the pregnancies due to a 'fundamental distrust of authorities, both in the UK and based on her experiences in Lithuania' where she was born, a judge sitting at Cardiff Crown Court said on Thursday. Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, sentencing, told the defendant: 'You made a deliberate decision not to seek assistance from the authorities because you knew the authorities could and would remove your children if necessary.' She added: 'While you have committed serious offences, the deaths of your children were not your fault, and you have suffered the loss of two children at birth.' Zilinskaite was sentenced to two years' imprisonment suspended for two years, and is required to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of Rehabilitation Activity Requirement. On November 26 2022, police officers were searching the end-of-terrace property in Bridgend as part of a separate inquiry when they noticed a 'foul smell' coming from the upstairs area of the house, the court heard. Upon investigating, they discovered the one baby concealed in the attic and the other baby in the airing cupboard, the judge was told. Medical examination later revealed the children, referred to as Baby A and Baby B in court, were full-term babies and the biological children of Zilinskaite and her then partner, Zilvinas Ledovskis, who lived with her. Due to the severe decomposition of the remains, no cause of death could be ascertained, the court heard. A pathologist however found it was 'not unreasonable' to conclude both babies died at around the time of birth due to the presence of placenta and umbilical cord. The court heard Zilinskaite gave birth to the first baby in August 2019 at a separate address, then moved the remains to the house in Bridgend where she delivered a second stillborn child in September 2021. During the sentence hearing, defence lawyer Matthew Roberts told the judge Zilinskaite feared she would be blamed for the stillbirths at the time. He said: 'Her emotions were all over the place, she didn't know what to do. 'She had a difficult relationship with her partner who was an alcoholic and was also emotionally abusive towards her.' Zilinskaite pleaded guilty to two counts of concealing the birth of a child and two counts of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a dead body at a previous hearing on April 10 2024. At the time, her former partner Ledovskis, now 50, from Swansea, pleaded not guilty to the same charges. He was however found not guilty on all counts in May this year after the prosecution said it would be presenting no evidence against him. A funeral also took place in May this year during which the babies were buried, the court was told.
Daily Mirror
10-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Mum's harrowing motive for hiding two stillborn babies in sheets and binbags
Egle Zilinskaite, 31, gave birth to two stillborn children three years apart and hid the bodies of both babies in her Wales terrace. Now the mum has been sentenced A mother-of-five who concealed the remains of her stillborn babies has avoided prison. Egle Zilinskaite, 31, delivered her two full-term children "alone and without medical support" before concealing them in blankets and binbags in her home. After the babies' bodies were found, she pleaded guilty to two counts of concealing the birth of a child and two counts of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a dead body. The mum was today handed a suspended prison sentence of two years. Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke told Cardiff Crown Court a "fundamental distrust of authorities, both in the UK and based on her experiences in Lithuania" had led to Zilinskaite concealing her pregnancies, adding: "You made a deliberate decision not to seek assistance from the authorities because you knew the authorities could and would remove your children if necessary." READ MORE: Mum who buried babies at home after hiding births is spared jail The court heard the bodies of Zilinskaite's two babies were found in November 2022 by police searching her home in Maes-Y-Felin, Bridgend. The end terrace was being searched as part of a separate inquiry when officers noticed a "foul smell" coming from the upstairs area of the house. Cops discovered the first baby concealed in blankets and bin bags in the property's attic and the second child wrapped in bed sheets in an airing cupboard. Medical examinations revealed the children, referred to as Baby A and Baby B in court, were full-term babies born in August 2019 in a separate property and September 2021 in the address searched. They were found to be the biological children of Zilinskaite and her then partner Zilvinas Ledovskis. Due to the severe decomposition of the remains, the court heard no cause of death could be ascertained for the children. A pathologist however determined it was "not unreasonable" to conclude both babies died at around the time of birth due to the presence of placenta and umbilical cord". During Zilinskaite's sentence hearing, defence lawyer Matthew Roberts told the judge: "Her emotions were all over the place, she didn't know what to do. She had a difficult relationship with her partner who was an alcoholic and was also emotionally abusive towards her." Judge Lloyd-Clarke handed her a suspended prison sentence of two years, with an additional 200 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of Rehabilitation Activity Requirement. Indicating why she had not sent the mum-of-five to jail, she said: "While you have committed serious offences, the deaths of your children were not your fault and you have suffered the loss of two children at birth." Ledovskis, 50, faced the same charges but was found not guilty on all counts in May this year after the prosecution said it would be presenting no evidence against him. The court heard a funeral for the babies had taken place the same month.
9 News
27-05-2025
- Business
- 9 News
Three jailed, 18 charged over millions in tax fraud
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Three people have been jailed for tax fraud offences while another 18 people have been charged over "a number of large-scale deceptions" of financial institutions and government agencies, Queensland Police and the ATO have said. Detectives allege the 18 individuals provided false details to receive fraudulent payments, defrauding the Australian Tax Office out of $2 million. The sting was part of a wider investigation with the ATO, which targeted offenders allegedly inventing fake businesses and submitting false Business Activity Statements to collect a GST refund. Generic photo of people walking out of the ATO Office. (AFR/ Luis Enrique Ascui) Three people were jailed as part of the operation. Queensland woman Tiarn Payten Nutley was found guilty of defrauding the ATO out of $50,000, and attempting to gain another $25,000. The ATO said she used an existing ABN to claim fraudulent GST refunds for a beauty and salon services business. She was sentenced to nine months in jail before she was released on a recognisance release order. She is required to be on good behaviour for a year. She had shared her MyGov log-in with two friends, who planned to lodge six false business activity statements (BAS) in her name. One of those friends, Skye Anne Hoek, was also sentenced over the tax fraud. Hoek lodged two BAS containing false information from Nutley's account, resulting in a $25,000 payday from GST refunds. She has been jailed for three months. It's alleged that the 18 individuals defrauded the Australian Tax Office out of $2 million. (Supplied) In a separate case, Queensland man Gregory Pimm lodged 37 BAS for a road freight transport business that didn't exist. Pimm claimed he ran the company from his home. He received over $165,000 in GST refunds and attempted to obtain another $300,000. The ATO said Pimm falsely reported total sales, GST collected on sales, GST on purchases made for the business and GST credits the ATO owed him. He was sentenced to 2 years and six months, but he will be released on recognisance of $500 after serving 6 months. Since the start of the investigation in 2022, officers have charged 84 people with defrauding the ATO out of over $8.5 million. ATO Acting Deputy Commissioner Kath Anderson said tax fraud was "not a victimless crime." "There are consequences for committing it," Anderson said. "These consequences can have a huge impact on your life, from employment, the ability to get a loan, to asset confiscation and ultimately jail time". Detective Senior Sergeant Brad Grace said Queensland police will continue cracking down on alleged tax fraud. "The Queensland Police Service (QPS) will continue to work closely with our government partners to identify and prosecute criminals who profit from defrauding the government," Grace said. "The cost of offending is large and has a real impact on the economy and community, the results would not have been possible without the assistance provided by the Australian Taxation Office." national police Tax crime Fraud queensland Brisbane CONTACT US Auto news: Google Gemini AI assistant coming to new cars in 2025.
Business Upturn
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
Solidus Labs Unveils Agentic-Based Compliance: A New Model for Trade Surveillance Operations
By Business Wire Published on May 22, 2025, 17:38 IST New York, United States: Solidus Labs , the category-definer in trade surveillance and risk monitoring for digital and traditional asset classes, today announced the launch of Agentic-Based Compliance, a groundbreaking model for surveillance operations that leverages a network of AI agents to deliver exponential efficiency, precision, and intelligence across the entire trade surveillance and transaction monitoring investigation lifecycle. Legacy compliance solutions have failed to keep up with the rapid modernization and growing complexity of global markets. Compliance teams are forced to work with a patchwork of disconnected and expensive tools that fail to deliver results efficiently. According to McKinsey , compliance analysts spend 80% of their time on low or moderate-risk issues, often repetitively resolving false positives or performing menial work. This inefficiency extends to market abuse detection: Despite the enormous resources and efforts invested in compliance technology, firms continue to face enforcement actions for missed manipulation. Research shows that market abuse like insider trading occurs in 20% of mergers and acquisitions and 5% of quarterly earnings announcements in U.S. markets. More broadly, only 4% of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) lead to law enforcement investigations. This isn't a failure of effort – it's a failure of architecture. Built on Solidus' proprietary platform, HALO, Agentic-Based Compliance reimagines how financial institutions detect, investigate, and resolve market abuse risks. It replaces legacy systems and siloed workflows with a unified, intelligence-led architecture powered by autonomous AI agents that augment human analysts and operate across a multi-dimensional risk environment. 'Agentic-Based Compliance is the only way compliance teams can stay ahead of emerging complexities like 24/7 off-platform trading, enhanced retail participation and the heightened risks they carry for cyber-enhanced financial crimes and cross-product and cross-market manipulation,' said Asaf Meir, Founder and Chief Executive of Solidus Labs. 'Our vision is simple: Compliance operations should be as scalable, intelligent, and efficient as the markets they're designed to protect. Solidus' Agentic-Based Compliance delivers just that, solving for tech sprawl, alert fatigue, talent shortage and surveillance blind spots that cost firms thousands of hours and can reach billions of dollars in losses and fines.' HALO embeds a fleet of purpose-built AI agents, each designed to streamline a specific stage of the compliance investigation lifecycle — from signal enrichment and alert remediation to model testing, OSINT intelligence feeds, case management, and regulatory reporting. Born in crypto's highly fragmented and complex environment, Solidus' Agentic-Based Compliance is future-proof by design for all asset classes, leading to 20X faster investigations and saving compliance analysts as much as 5 hours of menial work per day. Like all Solidus Labs' solutions, it was developed in tandem with regulatory feedback – aligning with the current and evolving demands of modern financial markets, including the imperatives of market abuse regulations in the U.S., EU, and other leading jurisdictions. Poised to power the next generation of surveillance operations, Solidus' Agentic-Based Compliance is already gaining traction among forward-looking financial firms seeking to modernize their compliance capabilities and reduce operational strain. To learn more, visit . About Solidus Labs Solidus Labs is the category-definer for Agentic-Based Compliance in trade surveillance and risk monitoring. Founded in 2018 by Goldman Sachs veterans, the company merges Wall Street rigor, crypto-native innovation, and cybersecurity principles to reinvent compliance for the modern financial era. At the core is HALO, an AI-powered risk-based platform trusted by financial institutions, crypto firms, and regulators globally to drive proactive, intelligence-led oversight — across any product, venue, or asset class. View source version on Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, social networks and other audiences.
Engadget
21-05-2025
- Health
- Engadget
Oura's smart ring gets better at tracking your activities
Oura has rolled out activity updates to its smart ring, including a new trend view for active minutes so that users can get a better look at how active they are for the day, the week or even the whole month. They'll also be able to add their max heart rate to the activity setting, and Oura will adjust heart rate zones accordingly. Oura now allows users to add or edit activities for the past seven days manually, instead of just for that particular day, and it now displays heart rate data from activities imported from partner integrations via Apple HealthKit and Health Connect by Android. Its Automatic Activity Detection feature has also been updated to work all hours to track movements, even for activities between midnight and 4AM. In addition to those new features, Oura has upgraded its system to be able to count steps more accurately. The company uses an advanced machine-learning model to determine whether a movement is an actual step, and it says the technology slashes average daily step count error by 61 percent. It has upgraded its Active Calorie burn feature to be more accurate by taking heart rate into account during exercise, as well. Oura can now also use your phone's GPS data to show your runs and walks in more detail within its app. All these updates are now available on iOS, but the new fitness metrics and new trend view for active minutes won't be out on Android until June. We've also pinged Oura to clarify which models are getting the updates. Aside from announcing its upgraded features, Oura has revealed its new partnerships with third-party entities. Users can now link their smart ring with CorePower Yoga so that they can track their yoga activities, Sculpt Society, Technogym and Open, which uses a person's biometrics to create personalized recovery rituals for them.
