Brian Sinclair, of Wild Street Shaw in Oldham, who worked as a manager at Noble Foods’ North Scarle packing centre near Lincoln for 20 years, pleaded guilty to one count of theft, four counts of fraud by false representation and two counts of fraud by abuse of position.
The 54-year-old had enjoyed regional responsibility at the poultry and egg farming specialist, managing stock levels across the company’s sites in Lincolnshire and its network of farm packers.
Investigations carried out by the Economic Crime Unit (ECU) found that in 2018 and 2019, Sinclair had abused his position within Noble Foods to divert existing stock and place false orders with manufacturers in order to steal from the company.
The former packing manager would order and move stock that was not needed from one site, arrange for a haulier to take it away to be recycled, and then claim the profit.
As a result, Noble Foods suffered significant losses over time, effectively losing stock and then being billed for unnecessary stock ordered that it did not receive, as well as being charged for the haulage costs.
In a further damning piece of evidence, it was revealed that Sinclair had gone so far as to alter invoices in order to remain undetected.
“This was a calculated and sustained abuse of trust. Over a prolonged period, Sinclair exploited his position for personal gain, defrauding his employer of £700,904,” said DC James Norton, the investigating officer from ECU for the case.
“This was not a momentary lapse in judgement but a deliberate course of conduct that caused significant financial harm. I would like to thank the victim company for their cooperation and support throughout what has been a long and complex investigation.”
He continued: “The sentence handed down today reflects the seriousness of offending of this nature and should serve as a clear warning that those who abuse positions of responsibility will be thoroughly investigated and brought to justice. Proceeds of Crime action will now commence to recover assets obtained as a result of this criminality.”
Carl Price, unit head prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), added: “The CPS is now pursuing confiscation proceedings against Brian Sinclair to recover the criminally obtained funds and assets, and would encourage anyone to report suspicions of fraud or economic crime to the police.”
