Freightwatch boss convicted of theft
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by Kathy Watson • One of the principals of Kent truck theft prevention company Freightwatch UK has been found guilty of theft, fraud and forgery involving bogus companies.
Richard Elliott appeared before Canterbury Crown Court on four counts of theft, one of deception, two counts of obtaining by deception and one of forgery. He asked for 27 other offences to be taken into consideration.
The offences took place between May 1991 and March this year when Elliott set up bogus companies to open bank accounts which he used to obtain £50,000 worth of goods and money. More than £4,000 is still missing.
Sentencing will take place on 10 September.
None of the convictions involved commercial vehicles: Elliott denied a charge of obtaining a 38-tonne Leyland Daf from BRS Truck Hire without paying and the court accepted his plea and allowed the charge to lie on the file.
Elliott, still employed by Freightwatch as operations manager, admitted this week "on the surface things look pretty damn grim".
But he added: "The position I hold at Freightwatch is totally separate to anything that may have happened in the past."
Freightvvatch's co-founder Paul Curtis is continuing to employ Elliott as operations director: "I will reserve judgement until after the 10 September case," he says.
Freightwatch was set up in June this year to advise truck owners on safety measures and provide a free hotline to publicise stolen trucks.
Currently around 2,000 vehicles are registered with Freightwatch.
Hauliers are charged an annual fee of £35 for rigids, £70 for artics, £20 for trailers. Alternatively they can pay £75 for a fleet plus £20 per artic.