Two men have been jailed after conning the States of Guernsey out of £2.6m through payment diversion fraud.
John Woodhatch, 58, of Epping New Road, Buckhurst Hill in Essex, and Adrian Taylor, 44, of Park Road, Swanley in Kent, have been jailed for five and six years respectively after pleading guilty to money laundering charges.
The two men contacted Guernsey Treasury in June 2012 claiming to be from Lagan Construction, a firm that is currently in the middle of a £50m project at Guernsey Airport.
They then informed that Treasury they wanted to change the bank account into which the monthly payments were due to be sent .
Once the money was paid Woodhatch, who was working as a city broker, tried to move the funds to accounts in Dubai and Turkey, but RBS became suspicious and made the City of London police aware of the situation.
Detective Inspector Rob Stirling, who led the investigation, said: “Woodhatch and Taylor thought they were too smart to be caught and would be left free to spend the £2.6m stolen from the States of Guernsey.”
“Unfortunately for them the City of London Police specialises in investigating cases of financial fraud and bringing those responsible to justice.
“Woodhatch and Taylor’s scam should also serve as a warning to other public and private sector bodies that could easily be targeted by fraudsters in the same way.”
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