The case involved the theft of Landfill Tax money that was supposed to go towards environmental improvement projects, and concerned the Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire.
Stephen Sampson, William Hurley and Andrew Watts were jailed for two and a half years for three counts under the Criminal Law Act 1977, of conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to falsify accounts documents.
Mr Hurley was jailed for an additional six months for two counts under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, for acting as a director of a company while bankrupt.
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LTCS |
| The Landfill Tax Credit Scheme aims to reduce the negative effects of landfills on nearby communities. Under the scheme, landfill operators can spend 6% of Landfill Tax revenues – the tax on waste going to landfill – on projects to benefit the local environment. |
Accountant and auditor Salvatore Solazzo was acquitted.
Offences
The offences took place between April 1998 and September 1999. They involved the three men using their influence as managers or controllers of an environmental body – Environmental Preservation Initiatives (EPI) Ltd – to dishonestly siphon funds away from the purpose for which they were intended.
EPI's environmental body status was revoked in September 1999 by the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme regulatory organisation, Entrust.
Under the LTCS, environmental bodies could spend monies raised by landfill operators through the Landfill Tax on projects to improve the local environment near landfill sites.
Mr Sampson, Mr Hurley and Mr Watts “dishonestly agreed to treat the landfill funds paid by the landfill operators to EPI as their own”, the Serious Fraud Office said.
An SFO statement explained: “They did this by making inflated payments to companies which were under their control or over which they exercised influence in order to line their own pockets.”
Paradise Wildlife Park
Grants made to environmental projects were conditional upon kick-backs being made to companies controlled by the defendants. The value of these grants was 656,000 and the largest was a 400,000 for the construction of an environmental centre at Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire. Mr Sampson was a director of Paradise Wildlife Park.
False invoices were sent to Paradise Wildlife Park to pay for 200,000 worth of services by companies controlled by Mr Hurley and Mr Watts – services that were never provided. Mr Solazzo was alleged to have taken part in this incident, but was found not guilty.
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Another count referred to a sum totalling 460,000 that was appropriated by Mr Hurley and Mr Watts in the form of “fees” paid to their companies Champions Management Ltd and Glevum Management Ltd.
Mr Hurley was also successfully prosecuted for acting as director of Champions Management Ltd and EPI whilst an undischarged bankrupt.
Defrendants were charged in December 2002, with a trial beginning on February 1, 2005.
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