Directors to face prison for 3m recycling fraud

Landarcy-based Nationwide Recycling Limited was raided in December 2010 by the Environment Agency. Officers found that since 2009 they had made almost 3 million in fraudulent transactions.

Company directors Paul Thomas, 48, of Eastland Road, Neath, and Andrew Thomas, 47, of Cefn Road, Bonymaen, were remanded in custody until they can be sentenced. They were told at the hearing last week (June 4-7) that they face an immediate prison term.

Two staff members from the company, which is now insolvent, Beverley Bradford, 50, and Terrance Aince, 51, are also awaiting sentence.

The two directors and two employees are being prosecuted separately from Nationwide Recycling Limited, which is also due to be sentenced shortly after being found guilty in October 2012 (see letsrecycle.com story) of issuing packaging waste recovery notes (PRNs) for waste which had not been received between January 1 2009 and October 1 2010, contrary to the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007.

The company had generated false weighbridge tickets and invoices for materials that were never recycled.

At last week’s hearing, prosecutor Tim Evans told Swansea Crown Court that they had either made up entirely false claims or they had sold loads they had already claimed money for. Their clients had included Swansea council.

Between 2009 and 2010, Nationwide Recycling Limited made 1,898,000 for entirely false claims partly by making up registration numbers for vehicles they said had taken waste to them. Some of those registration numbers included a coach, small car or motorbikes. One of the vehicles they said had delivered 20 tonnes of glass was a Harley Davidson motorbike.

Officers from the Environment Agency, now known as Natural Resources Wales, found that 62 loads of glass packaging waste were received over the six days, but the company had claimed they had received 130 loads.

Paul and Andrew Thomas had sold 295,000 of cans they had bought from local authorities. They also breached the terms of their environmental permit by storing piles of waste.

Fraud

Beverley Bradford, of Maes yr Haf, Tydraw Road, Bonymaen, and Terrance Ainge, of Mansel Road, Bonymaen, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation. Both Thomass also admitted that and two counts of breaches of Environmental permits and money laundering of 295,000.

Prosecutors are also trying to recover some of the money the group made.

The court had heard Andrew Thomas had a BMW 4×4 as a company car and that Paul Thomas had bought a 100,000 boat which was docked in Spain.

The two directors and two employees originally pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2012 (see letsrecycle.com story).

They were prosecuted separately from Nationwide Recycling Limited, which is also due to be sentenced shortly after being found guilty in October 2012 (see letsrecycle.com story) of issuing PRNs for waste which had not been received between January 1 2009 and October 1 2010, contrary to the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007.