Former New Forest District Council worker Richard Cullen jailed after taking bribes from roofer Mark Diaper
An ex-NFDC worker has been jailed for more than four years after he took bribes from a roofer who would then submit inflated work invoices.
Former council maintenance operative Richard Cullen (55), from Luton, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and bribery when he appeared in the dock at Southampton Crown Court.
Cullen took bribes from Mark Diaper (34), who worked at a Southampton roofing company, which is now no longer trading. Cullen was sentenced to 58 months’ jail, while Diaper was sent down for 32 months after admitting fraud by abuse of position and bribery.
Diaper bribed Cullen to secure work for which inflated invoices were submitted. The court heard Diaper overcharged by more than £88,000, but the jobs referred to his company were worth much more, and Cullen had referred maintenance jobs to the roofing firm for a 10% cut of any profits.
Council rules mean jobs worth £15,000 or more had to go out to tender and, on one occasion, Cullen asked Diaper to split a quotation in two so it did not look so large. Cullen also encouraged Diaper to add expensive elements like scaffolding to invoices to push up their profits.
Cullen’s crimes were discovered in January 2019 after NFDC managers noticed a large amount of money had been paid to the roofing company, and the expenditure authorised by Cullen had increased by 146%.
Soon after the discovery, Cullen was found asleep at his desk. He was suspended and subsequently dismissed.
Investigators later found messages that showed Cullen was keeping Diaper informed about upcoming jobs.
Diaper responded to one message saying: “My man keep them coming bud let’s get the money in the bank.”
In September 2018, Cullen had asked Diaper how much “roofing dollar” he was likely to have coming his way.
It seems that by February 2019 the men began to realise the net was closing on them, with Cullen telling Diaper: “(I am) gonna wipe my phone tonight got a program that overwrites so nothing can be recovered…I'll pop over & do yours if you like?”
Following the conviction, Crown Prosecution Service unit head Kevin Hansford said: “This scam defrauded the council – and by default hard working taxpayers – out of a large amount of public money.
“As an employee, Cullen was expected to safeguard the financial interests of the council, instead he abused that trust.
“The money should have benefited the community and gone towards local services but, instead, it went into the pockets of individuals who were dishonestly manipulating the system."
NFDC chief executive Kate Ryan said: “We are aware of the outcome of this case and are satisfied to see the matter has now concluded with prison sentences. New Forest District Council has, since we first discovered and reported the issue, actively cooperated with the authorities.
“Although crimes of this nature are extremely rare, our duty to protect public funds is taken very seriously and we have stringent processes and protocols in place to prevent such occurrences.
“We routinely review our anti-fraud processes to ensure they are robust, and we have a thorough candidate vetting process for recruitment, staff training and information, and ways for people to report any suspicions. Now the case has concluded, the matter will be reviewed again with a full report for our audit committee.
“This case serves as a stark reminder of the importance of vigilance and accountability. As chief executive, it is both disheartening and unacceptable that such actions have taken place within our organisation.
“Our officers are deeply committed to public service and hold the values of integrity and transparency, and so to have these values compromised by the actions of these two individuals is profoundly disappointing.”