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 Gerallt, Bontnewydd, and his three sons Ian Wyn Jones, of Carmel Road, Penygroes, Keith Jones, of Caerberllan, Llanddaniel, Anglesey, and Kevin Wyn Jones, of Llwyn Beuno, 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.
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, near Caernarfon, 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 Gwynedd County Council which 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 money only around 58% was paid into the company’s bank account.
Adjourning sentence for the preparation or pre-sentence reports until a date to be fixed, and giving the four men bail, Judge Timothy Petts said: "You have been found guilty by the jury of serious charges in relation to fleecing the local authority by submitting false claims for concessionary bus fares and conspiring together to launder money from Express Motors.
“Clearly only one sentence can be imposed for offences of this nature and that is a custodial sentence."
