Leicestershire man used furniture firms as front in £500,000 scheme

Five people have been sentenced for their involvement in a £500,000 fraud and money laundering scheme.

Neale Rothera, 49, described by the Insolvency Service as the scheme's "ringleader", has been jailed for six years and four months.

He was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on 19 March with four others.

Rothera set up businesses, which claimed to sell furniture and carpets, and used them as vehicles to commit the offences.

Simon Wakefield, Frederick Penn, Shona Walters, and Laura Perkins were all sentenced at the same hearing as Rothera, formerly of Station Road, Quorn.

The Insolvency Service said all four companies Rothera helped establish claimed to be in the business of selling carpets and furniture in the Leicestershire area, but were "in large part a sham".

Mark Stephens, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, described the fraud as "very sophisticated, persistent, and carefully planned".

He said: "Neale Rothera was the common theme throughout, devising the schemes and orchestrating their implementation.

"Rothera was ably assisted by the others who fronted the companies or helped him launder the fraudulently-obtained funds while he acted as a shadow director.

"None of the individuals involved were exploited or coerced into taking part in this criminal behaviour and we hope these sentences serve a warning to those considering such fraudulent actions."

The offences happened in 2012 and 2013, with the fraud centred around "invoice factoring agreements" between financial services institutions and four companies: Thistle Interiors Ltd, Sorrel Trading Ltd, Wakefield Trading Ltd, and Penn Interiors Ltd.

The Insolvency Service explained invoice factoring is a "legitimate type of finance which allow businesses to access the money tied up in unpaid invoices from banks", instead of having to wait to be paid by customers.

Rothera enlisted the help of Walters, Wakefield and Penn to act upon his behalf as directors, as no bank would enter into a credit agreement with him.

All three "played a willing and active role" in securing the factoring agreements, the Insolvency Service added.

Rothera used money from this fraud towards compensation he was ordered to pay after being convicted of another fraud offence in Scotland.

Wakefield withdrew £235,340 of the fraudulently-obtained funds on Rothera's behalf between July and August 2012.

Rothera pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation and one count of money laundering and, along with his prison sentence, was disqualified as a company director for nine years.

Walters, 54, of Church Street, Lossiemouth, Moray, and Penn, 76, of Roughlands Drive, Carronshore, Falkirk, both received a 19-month suspended prison sentence, 20 days of rehabilitation activity, and 140 hours of unpaid work, after pleading guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and one count of money laundering each.

Wakefield, 53, of St Mary's Crescent, East Leake, Nottinghamshire, received a 22-month suspended prison sentence, 10 days of rehabilitation activity, and 175 hours of unpaid work, after pleading guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and one count of money laundering.

Perkins, 31, of Mundy Close, Burton on the Wolds, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, receiving an 18-month community order and 50 hours of unpaid work.

The director of Sorrel Trading Ltd was not prosecuted due to insufficient evidence.

A total of £562,901.64 was ultimately never recovered by the banks.

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