Audit reveals fraud amounting to almost £320,000

Three men who fraudulently supplied a company with poultry worth £318,347 have been convicted of committing fraud and acquiring criminal property.

Two of the men, Darren Williams and Elliot Smith, worked at the 2 Sisters Food Group and supplied the meat to Townsend Poultry.

According to an investigation, prompted by an audit, more than 80 deliveries were made to Townsend Poultry despite it not actually being a customer of the food group.

To make matters worse, there were no records of the deliveries as Williams and Smith destroyed them. However, forged handwritten despatch notes were found when the audit was conducted.

Originally, the owner of Townsend Poultry, Rana Dhaia, had pleaded not guilty to acquiring criminal property.

However, he was convicted after a trial in October and was jailed for four years and three months.

Smith and Williams both received a two-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to fraud by abuse of position.

Williams also pleaded guilty to a charge of conceal/disguise/convert/transfer/remove criminal property.

The prosecution said that all three men had taken advantage of their respective positions to defraud the 2 Sisters Food Group.

Speaking after the sentencing, a spokesman for the North Wales Police Economic Crime Unit said that the offences not only cost the 2 Sisters Good Group thousands of pounds but could also have had far-reaching implications due to traceability issues if the criminals had not been caught.

Roger Isaacs, National Technical Director of NIFA, said: “2 Sisters Food Group is to be congratulated in pursuing this case through the courts.

“All too often the victims of this type of fraud, fail to take action to ensure that the perpetrators are prosecuted for fear of bad publicity.

“It is unclear what role forensic accountants played in this prosecution but the role of the auditors was evidently critical.”

Sources: BBC News

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