A council worker who made practically £250,000 by holding down 4 completely different jobs at a number of native authorities has been jailed for 3 years.
Bryn Howells, 66, from Stroud, Gloucestershire, labored for 2 district councils and one other firm which offered providers to 3 extra earlier than he was caught.
The fraudster did not declare his present jobs and submitted false timesheets, permitting him to achieve a wage and advantages totalling a whopping £236,000 between February 2022 and June 2023.
Howells labored concurrently for Tewkesbury borough council, South Gloucestershire council and Publica Group.
He denied any wrongdoing, saying he was as a substitute motivated by a need to help native councils the place expert workers have been briefly provide.
Howells additionally claimed that not one of the native authorities suffered financially on account of his actions and that he had all the time accomplished his work.
Nonetheless, jailing him at Gloucester Crown Court docket on Thursday, Choose Malcom Gibney mentioned the 66-year-old had ‘made hay whereas the solar shined’.
He mentioned Howells labored a number of jobs within the information that the councils wouldn’t be checking up on him.
Bryn Howells (pictured), 66, from Stroud, Gloucestershire, labored for 2 district councils and one other firm which offered providers to 3 extra earlier than he was caught
Howells was jailed for 3 years at Gloucester Crown Court docket (pictured) on Thursday
Howells labored concurrently for Tewkesbury borough council (pictured), South Gloucestershire council and Publica Group between February 2022 and June 2023
Gloucester Crown Court docket beforehand heard that Howells was employed as a strategic housing and enabling officer at Tewkesbury council, a senior improvement surveyor at South Gloucestershire council and a valuer and estates surveyor at Publica Group.
He was convicted in July of six counts of fraud by false illustration and three counts of fraud by failing to reveal info.
Howells’s wrongdoing was uncovered in a assessment of payroll knowledge by Tewkesbury council’s fraud unit.
On the time he had simply resigned from South Gloucestershire council however was nonetheless employed by Tewkesbury council and the Publica Group.
Sentencing Howells to 3 years in jail, Choose Gibney mentioned based on the BBC: ‘It is clear that once you did work, the work was good.
‘You’re an skilled man in your occupation. You’re a man with a ardour to your job.
‘You took the view this was a possibility to make hay whereas the solar shined and you can earn important sums of cash doing work for native authorities assured within the information they weren’t as diligent in establishing you have been doing all that was set you.’
