Two more join Garry Killick in jail for role in Lincolnshire scrap metal recycling fraud

Two men who worked with a former metal recycling manager from Stamford to defraud a Lincolnshire company out of millions of pounds have also been jailed.

Patrick Gavin, 34, whose address was given as Wellingborough Prison in Northamptonshire, was sentenced to two years and six months at Lincoln Crown Court on Friday (May 24).

Frankie East, 26, of the same address, was sentenced to two years and eight months for converting criminal property.

Their crime was linked to that of Garry Killick, 49, formerly of Gleneagles Close off Perth Road, Stamford, who was jailed in February last year for three years and nine months. He was found guilty of nine counts of fraud by abuse of position.

The court had heard that from 2014 to July 2017, Killick used his authority as site manager to fraudulently divert funds totalling £2.2 million from the scrap metal recycling company by creating false customer records on bogus sales of scrap metal.

The crime against the scrap metal company - which is not being identified - was not limited to those jailed. Others were involved in ‘converting criminal property’, which involves concealing or disguising the nature, source, location, or ownership of property.

Thomas Smith, 25, of Compton Place, Kettering, received 16 months suspended for 18 months for converting criminal property. He was also given a rehabilitation requirement.

Danielle Mehew, 32, previously of Oxford Mews, Rothwell, guilty of two counts of converting criminal property, received a 21-month sentence running concurrently, suspended for 18 months. She was given a rehabilitation requirement.

Craig Voss, 34, of Sutherland Road, Corby, was sentenced to two years suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work.

Kenneth Schlegel, 34, of Station Road, Kettering, who was also charged with the offence, failed to appear in court and will be sentenced at a later date. A warrant is out for his arrest.

From 2014 and July 2017, the group had been working with former metal recycling site manager Killick to divert funds and defraud the company out of a total of £2.2 million pounds.

This was done by creating false records and inflating prices on bogus sales of scrap metal, and setting up payments via cheques, bank transfer and PDQ (electronic transfer to bank cards) that the group later manipulated to make a financial gain to the tune of £1,348,289.08.

Investigations revealed that in a two-year period, 1,797 cheques were exchanged for cash at a money centre in Corby, which amounted to £1,341,759.08.

Investigations also revealed that £850 and £3,877 was collected by Schlegel and Mehew, respectively, via electronic bank transfer.

DC James Norton, who led the investigation, said: “Last year, Garry Killick was convicted and sentenced for siphoning millions of pounds from his employer to the benefit of himself and these five people.

“The Proceeds of Crime Act provides the ability to pursue those who benefit from criminality, and this court result shows that Lincolnshire Police, in conjunction with the Crown Prosecution Service, will use that legislation to take the benefit away from criminality, the fight to show that crime does not pay.

“We will now use the Act to further try and retrieve the lost money for the victim.”