A former National Trust employee who defrauded the organisation out of more than £1 million has been jailed after he appeared in Bristol Crown Court with his sons, who laundered the proceeds of the fraud.
Roger Bryant, 73, of Barnstaple, Devon, was employed by the National Trust as a building surveyor when he committed a string of frauds against his employer. He fraudulently authorised 148 invoices from two companies linked to his sons for work that was not done.
The money was actually being transferred into the accounts of his sons James Bryant, 49, and Scott Bryant, 38, both from Barnstaple, who were also sentenced.
The fraud was discovered in October 2013, when the National Trust was updating its approach to procurement. A company linked to Roger Bryant’s son, James, was identified as the biggest supplier to the Trust in that area, but none of the managers had heard of it. When confronted, Roger Bryant said that the company in question had existed and had done the work.
The Trust then began to look closely at some of the invoices and conducted site visits to look at the ‘work’ which they were not satisfied had been done. Roger Bryant was suspended, and the matter was reported to the police.
Roger Bryant attempted to pervert the course of justice by asking two people to lie and say that they had witnessed works at various locations when, in fact, they had not.
He also arranged to move cardboard boxes full of National Trust paperwork, such as deeds and plans, to an old milking shed on James Bryant’s farm, which he did not mention to the police, at the same time claiming that the National Trust had lost paperwork that would prove his innocence.
In a separate fraud, Roger Bryant submitted invoices in relation to a real contractor for work supposedly carried out on National Trust properties when the work was, in fact, done on his own property.
The Crown presented evidence from an expert building surveyor who examined the ‘work’ locations and found no evidence of work done. Some of the properties were occupied by tenants, and none of them had any recollection of the work.
The Crown’s case was that the two companies who had submitted the 148 invoices authorised by Roger Bryant were not real – there was no record of any such company purchasing the large amounts of building supplies that would have been required for such work. None of the other Trust contractors had heard of the companies. James Bryant was, in fact, a full-time farmer.
Bank account evidence showed money being transferred from the National Trust to accounts controlled by James and Scott Bryant nearly 150 times over the time period covered by the charges.
Roger Bryant was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. James Bryant was jailed for four years, and Scott Bryant received an 18-month suspended sentence plus 170 hours of unpaid work.
Sian Mitchell from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “As an employee of the National Trust, Roger Bryant had been placed in a position of trust, which he breached, committing a significant fraud against them.
“At every stage of the investigation he tried to mislead investigators, attempting to hide paperwork and even trying to persuade witnesses to lie. However, the prosecution was able to build a robust case to prove beyond doubt that he was guilty.
“The National Trust is a registered charity and the money defrauded should have gone to help continue its good work and benefit the public.
“We will not hesitate to prosecute cases of serious fraud such as this and we are pursuing confiscation proceedings against the defendants to remove any available funds from this fraud.”
Detective Inspector Adam Bond from Devon and Cornwall Police said: “This has been a complex case hindered by the passage of time, but due to the support and assistance given by representatives of the National Trust, the CPS and prosecuting counsel, the jury who sat through nearly three months of evidence were able to pass guilty verdicts on all but three of the charges leading to today’s sentences.
“I would especially like to thank the witnesses in this case who have persevered throughout what has been a very lengthy investigation.
“The sentences passed today by His Honour Judge Burgess KC reflect the severity of this fraud, especially considering that the victim is a much-loved and respected charitable organisation responsible for much of the country’s building and countryside heritage.”
