FRAUDSTERS who fleeced companies of more than £50,000 will go back to jail if they fail to pay back a fraction of the stolen cash.
Former company director Matthew Lynas and sales director Paul Savage appeared at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday as the courts attempt to claw back their assets after a £54,000 fraud.
The court heard that Lynas, who went on a spending spree with the proceeds of the fraud, now lives in a rented room and earns £350 a week while Savage works as a painter and decorator.
Lynas enjoyed a benefit figure of £47,327 from the fraud but only had an available amount of £4,175 to pay back to the court. Savage had a benefit figure of £14,575 but only had £2,819 to return.
We have previously reported how Lynas, 31, of Northwick Close, Worcester, and Savage, 38, of Westfield Road, Fernhill Heath, were jailed after admitting fraudulent trading while running the Luxury Bag and Box Company.
Lynas was jailed for 17 months and Savage for 14 months last February by judge Nicolas Cartwright. Both were also disqualified from acting as directors for five years.
However, they face more time in jail if they do not pay off the cash they owe as part of a proceeds of crime application.
The confiscation order demands only a fraction of the cash they stole because of their lack of available assets.
The company sold high end packaging to fashion retailers, bridal wear businesses and florists but failed to deliver the products. Lynas and Savage also failed to reply to customers when they chased up their orders or fobbed them off with lies to keep them at bay, the court heard.
This included false claims that Lynas was in China, that goods were at the port about to clear customs, that there had been a fire at the non-existent storage facility, that Lynas was in hospital ill and even that he had been in a car crash.
Lynas used £26,000 in cash from an international florist, Maison De Fleurs, to pay his rent, fund his rented Mercedes and to buy fashion items for himself.
Lynas went on what the prosecution called a ‘spending spree’ in River Island, Louis Vuitton, Next , Zizzi, JD Sports and Selfridges.
But the court heard, with an overdrawn bank balance and unfulfilled contractual obligations of £175,000, Lynas took this cash from the florist as a 75 per cent deposit with no prospect of them ever receiving their order.
Both men pleaded guilty in November 2017.
Katie McCreath, for Lynas, said he was now earning £350 per week and had £2,000 in his bank account. However, she argued against her client being made to pay prosecution costs, saying he had little disposable income and had to pay rent, a mobile phone contract and child support as well as living expenses.
Richard Hull, for Savage, said his client had a BMW X5 but that had been used in part exchange for a vehicle owned by and driven by Savage’s partner.
“They have three children for whom they are responsible” said Mr Hull. Savage has two bank accounts with nominal amounts of £10 in each. Mr Hull said Savage had been released on home detention curfew in June last year and was earning around £1,500 per month working as a painter and decorator.
Savage has spoken to family members about securing assistance to pay the sum requested by the court.
The Luxury Bag and Box Company began trading in January 2014 but was dissolved by September 2015. Although it was accepted that the company was set up with ‘legitimate aims and ambitions’, it was trading fraudulently by February 2015 when the defendants knew there was a substantial risk that orders could not be fulfilled but carried on taking payments.
Judge Nicholas Cole made confiscation orders in relation to both men, giving them three months to pay or face three months in prison in default of that payment.
The judge ordered them to each pay a £500 contribution towards prosecution costs within 12 months.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel