Businessman sentenced for fraud (Stockport)
A man who lied about the death of a friend in an attempt to escape fraud charges has today, Friday 13 February 2009, been sentenced.
Andrew Nightingale (born 13/10/1960), of Adlington Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to 15 counts of fraud at Minshull Street Crown Court.
He was sentenced to 100 hundred hours community service, ordered to pay £195 in compensation to four companies and £250 court costs.
Nightingale sent out invoices to about 175 companies for fire safety inspection and maintenance work that had never been done.
The invoice provided bank account details for payments to be made into - the account was Nightingale's personal offshore account.
Had all the companies he contacted paid up, the scam would have been worth more than £8,500.
In June 2007, 14 companies complained to Trading Standards that they had received invoices for maintenance work on their fire extinguishers that had never been carried out.
Trading Standards then contacted the police.
The invoices for £48.75 were traced back to Wall 2 Wall Fire Protection Services based in Marple, Stockport.
Nightingale was confronted with the invoices and admitted to police that he had sent out the document but explained it away as a legitimate marketing tool.
He said he mailed out information packs, which included the invoice, after first cold calling companies to gauge their interest.
Searches carried out on his computers later revealed his database contained addresses but no phone numbers to enable him to call in advance.
Nightingale was arrested in December 2007.
The 14 companies that complained to Trading Standards only received the invoice and Nightingale tried explaining to officers that mistakes may have been made in packaging them as members of his family helped him.
He also told police that Wall 2 Wall Fire Protection Services quickly ceased business as the man he had been working with and had known ten years, who was due to carry out the inspections, soon lost interest.
When police asked for his contact details, Nightingale said the man had since died.
Police inquiries revealed the man had not died.
Four companies paid the invoice but when contacted by police, it transpired they had paid without checking and the work had never been done.
Detective Constable Julian Scarsbrook, of Stockport CID, said: "Nightingale actively sought money from businesses for services he knew he had not provided.
"Fire safety is something all firms take very seriously and that was reflected in four of them paying up without question.
"Once he was caught out and confronted by police, he made up numerous lies in order to avoid detection.
"I am pleased to see he has been punished for his actions today. Fraud is a very serious offence and had all those he tried to invoice paid up, he would have profited hugely from his dishonest behaviour."
from GMP website author unknown
Topic: Marple businessman sentenced for fraud (Read 1924 times)