Conman Neale Rothera who previously scammed Moray locals jailed for latest scheme involving Lossiemouth accomplice
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
AN infamous conman who was previously jailed after setting up fake businesses in Moray has been given another prison sentence for masterminding a £500,000 money laundering scheme.
Neale Rothera (49), who was described as the scheme’s “ringleader”, was jailed for six years and four months at Leicester Crown Court last week.
Rothera was sentenced for the “persistent and carefully prepared” fraud alongside his four accomplices including Lossiemouth resident Shona Walters (54).
They set up four furniture and carpet businesses across the Leicestershire area between 2012 and 2013.
However, investigations by the Insolvency Service revealed all the companies, and most of the associated invoices, were in large part a sham.
Mark Stephens, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “This has been an extremely complex investigation taking place over a number of years into a very sophisticated, persistent, and carefully planned fraud.
“Neale Rothera was the common theme throughout, devising the schemes and orchestrating their implementation.
“Rothera was ably assisted by the others who fronted the companies or helped him launder the fraudulently obtained funds while he acted as a shadow director.
“None of the individuals involved were exploited or coerced into taking part in this criminal behaviour and we hope these sentences serve a warning to those considering such fraudulent actions.”
In 2012, Rothera was spared prison at Elgin Sheriff Court after defrauding seven people at Lossiemouth’s Silver Sands Caravan Park out of £53,500.
He told the victims of the scam that he was the owner of a number of caravans on the site and that he was entitled to sell them. In reality, they were owned by other people.
However, in 2020 Rothera was sentenced to two years behind bars after being found to have perpetrated another elaborate deception in Moray.
The incident in 2013 saw the then 36-year-old adopt the false name of James Gardner.
He defrauded a Yorkshire finance business out of £48,530 after posing as a representative for a company called Sutherlands Giftware Ltd based in Tomintoul.
He gave a representative of the finance business a tour of the supposed office in the Moray village and showed them fake paperwork.
But once the scam was discovered, he went on the run.
The fraud in Rothera’s most recent case centred around so-called ‘invoice factoring agreements’ between financial services institutions and four companies.
Invoice factoring is a legitimate type of finance which allow businesses to access the money tied up in unpaid invoices from banks, instead of having to wait 30-90 days to be paid by their customers.
But investigations found that the customers Rothera’s companies claimed to deal with did not exist or they had not traded with them in the manner suggested by the invoices.
A total of £562,901.64 was ultimately never recovered by banks.
The scheme was Rothera’s “brainchild” but he was unable to put himself forward as company director as no bank would enter into a credit agreement with him.
He therefore enlisted the help of Shona Walters (54), Simon Wakefield (53) and Frederick Penn (76) who became the sole directors of Thistle Interiors Ltd, Wakefield Trading Ltd, and Penn Interiors Ltd, acting on Rothera’s behalf.
They all maintained that Rothera was actually called Neil Franklin as part of the deception.
Once the credit had been secured, the funds were either withdrawn in cash by each of the defendants or transferred into other accounts.
The money from the fraud was used by Rothera to pay compensation he was ordered to pay to those he defrauded by selling caravans he did not own in Lossiemouth.
All five defendants were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on March 19.
Rothera was jailed for six years and four months and was disqualified as company director for nine years.
Lossiemouth resident Shona Walters was sentenced to 19 months in prison, suspended for two years, 20 days rehabilitation activity and 140 hours of unpaid work.
Simon Wakefield was sentenced to 22 months in prison, suspended for two years, 10 days rehabilitation activity, and 175 hours of unpaid work.
Frederick Penn was sentenced to 19 months in prison, suspended for two years, 20 days rehabilitation activity, and 140 hours of unpaid work.
Laura Perkins (31), a bar manager who worked for Rothera, was handed an 18-month community order and ordered to complete 50 hours of unpaid work.
