A FORMER vehicle fleet advisor for Provident Financial has been jailed for three years for a six-year car selling scam that netted him £216,652.

Among the “fripperies” that Keith Waud-Richard accumulated between June 2012 and March 2018 were a static caravan holiday home in Bridlington, a Mercedes SLK sports car, watches, Gucci chains, Ralph Lauren bags, sunglasses and a Nikon camera.

The goods were valued at £9,235 and cash totalling £27,930 was also recovered, which included £18,000 in the boot of the Mercedes.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Waud-Richard, who pleaded guilty to theft by employee, sold 26 cars through his unknowing nephew Scott Collins, who kept any profit but passed the book value back his uncle but the money was never deposited into Provident’s accounts.

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David McGonigal, for Waud-Richard, of Trent Avenue, Wakefield, said his client had had a lonely adolescence and suffered from a lack of self-esteem, partly because of his homosexuality.

The court was told that Waud-Richards had worked for Bradford-based Provident as a vehicle fleet advisor since 2009 and was responsible for organising and controlling the fleet of vehicles which was owned by the company.

He was in complete control of the disposal of vehicles with cars being sold to managers and people leaving the company who wanted to take their car.

Suspicions arose in 2018 when Provident considered switching from owning their fleet to leasing it and it was discovered that 58 vehicles were unaccounted for.

The company investigated and Waud-Richard then took long-term sick leave reporting that he had had a bereavement in his family, which they thought was not true.

The internal audit team found that the vehicles had been disposed of but the money had not been remitted. The prosecution said that the proceeds of the fraud were used to fund a luxury lifestyle above what he could finance from his £27,000 annual salary.

Mr McGonigal said that his client’s offending has started legitimately selling a dozen cars to managers and then to other employees but “he discovered a way to cover his tracks through the alteration of documents and such like”.

He said Waud-Richard was not criminal by nature and had no issues with drugs, alcohol, gambling or debts that would make it easy to understand his offences.

He added that the reason for the offences became clear as he had difficulties growing up because of his sexuality. His father disowned him and he always felt his siblings were looked on more favourably.

Mr McGonigal said: “He has lived with knowing friends and family have seen a different side of him and he has lost their respect and his employment.”

Sentencing Waud-Richard to 38 months in prison, Judge Jonathan Rose said it was impossible to ignore the pre-sentence report and the effects of his homosexuality and feeling pressure from his father but that “does not excuse the protracted period of criminality, breach of trust and acquiring of money because of greed”.

He said the defendant had proved himself by remaining in employment and rising to a position of trust and forming a loving relationship.

But, he added: “What you chose to prove is you are a cunning man and over nearly six years systematically stole from your employer.”

He said he had spent the money on fripparies, none of which he needed, and which would now be taken away from him.

Judge Rose added: “You utilised a proper mind and turned the system into one you could exploit by careful manipulation.

“A seriously aggravating feature is use of your nephew, who knew nothing, with the inevitable consequence that suspicion would fall on him.

“You made a vast amount of money for yourself.”