Bamford Convicted of £318,000 Fraud
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AT Derbyshire Assizes last week, Eric Earles Bamford, director of several haulage companies, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, and Kenneth Walton Hutchinson, his transport manager, to three years' imprisonment.
Bamford pleaded guilty to 10 charges involving conspiracy to cheat and defraud. larceny and obtaining £143,708 by false pretences. He asked for 92 other. offences of fraud involving 1:175.000 to be taken into consideration.
Hutchinson pleaded guilty to nine charges of conspiracy. larceny and false pretences. and asked for 55 cases involving [145.000 to be taken into considera tion. . .
When the Bamford companies went into liquidation, there were -liabilities of 1:5h2.556.
Mr. W. A. Fearnlev-Whittingstall. Q.C.. for the Crown, said that the frauds were worked in .three ways. Hire-purchase companies were persuaded to finance the sale of fictitious or derelict lorries from Bamford (Engineering), Ltd., to a subsidiary company. Sales were arranged to dummy hirers who could be persuaded to sign documents and receipts, but never received vehicles. Thirdly, lorries which were already the subject of hirepurchase agreements were sold,
Bamford acquired licences when units of British Road Services were sold. He opened depots in London. Liverpool, Sheffield, Louth, Sleaford and Nottingham, and had registered companies to operate in his name at Newcastle upon Tyne. Edinburgh and Glasgow.
CONCESSION BILLS REJECTED D ILLS promoted by Walsall and West
Bromwich Corporations to legalize concession fares on their municipal transport systems have been thrown out by the House of Lords. They were opposed by the British Transport Commission and the Public Transport Association.
Walsall sought to legalize concessions given since 1904. 1912 and 1922. They, and those at West Bromwich, were made illegal by the High Court decision in 1954 which resulted from an action brought against Birmingham Corporation.
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