Judge warns that custodial sentences are likely after guilty verdict handed down to family members
Four members of the family that ran Penygroes-based Express Motors have been convicted by a jury at the end of a four-week trial at Caernarfon Crown Court of concessionary fares fraud and misappropriating money earned by the business.
Eric Wyn Jones, of Bontnewydd, and his three sons, Ian Wyn Jones, of Penygroes, Keith Jones, of Llanddaniel, Anglesey, and Kevin Wyn Jones, of Bontnewydd, were found guilty of conspiring together and with others unknown to commit fraud by false representation in that they instructed others to falsely swipe concessionary fare cards, did themselves falsely swipe concessionary fare cards and made false claims to Gwynedd County Council (GCC)
They were also found guilty of conspiring to hide, conceal, convert and disguise criminal property, namely money from Express Motors, by failing to account for all cash taken, failing to pay tax on those takings, and paying it into their personal bank accounts without declaring it as income.
A former Express Motors driver, Rheiunallt Williams, of Deiniolen, had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiring together and with others unknown to commit fraud by falsely swiping concessionary fare cards.
Evidence was given that in 2014, 32 lost or stolen concessionary fare cards were fraudulently swiped 88,000 times, extracting a little over £88,492 of revenue for Express Motors from GCC that it was not entitled to.
Something in excess of £509,000 in revenue was generated by Express Motors which was not banked by the company. The police discovered that regular cash payments were made to the four men.
That money was not accounted for or taxed. Between April 2013 and June 2014 Express Motors generated revenue of £1.2million. Of that, only around 58% was paid into the company’s bank account.
Judge Timothy Petts adjourned sentencing for the preparation or pre-sentence reports until 31 October, and gave the four men bail. He warned them to expect custodial sentences.
