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0-Licence scammer receives six-and-a-half-year jail. term
Page 8
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By Mike Jewett STEPHEN O'SULLIVAN. the man behind an 0-licensing scam in which 0-licences and 0-licence discs were rented out, has been sentenced to six and a half years' imprisonment in his absence.
O'Sullivan, of Drayton Parslow, Buckinghamshire, failed to appear before the jury at Luton Crown Court (Arrest warrant issued', CM 26 March) which convicted him and hauliers Anthony Purnell and William Robertson of conspiring together and with others to defraud the Traffic Commissioners and their staff; conspiring to defraud people who had paid to have their vehicles unlawfully specified on 0-licences belonging to another licence holder; and conspiring to allow 0-licences to be used by those not holding 0-licences, after an eight-week trial. O'Sullivan was also convicted on three counts of money laundering. Purnell, of Ilkeston, Derbyshire. was given 1.5 months' jail and Robertson, of Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
The court heard that during a five-year period, O'Sullivan's estimated criminal proceeds were in the region of £.2m. Traffic Area staff were misled into issuing 0-licence discs for vehicles not being operated by the licenceholder, defeating the purpose of the 0-licensing system.
In sentencing O'Sullivan, Judge Bright said he would receive a consecutive prison sentence for breaching his bail once caught. Bright added that O'Sullivan had operated a scheme that "drove a coach and horses" through the 0-licensing system.
He hid the cash that he earned through the scheme and so paid no tax. Bright also said it could have resulted in "death and mayhem" on the roads.
Turning to Robertson and Purnell, Bright said he was satisfied their roles were significant and they both knew what they were doing was wrong. In Purnell's case, he was satisfied he was never a legitimate haulier, and that he had applied for an 0-licence so he could rent it out to O'Sullivan.
Finally, Bright said the message had to go out "loud and clear" that people who tried to circumvent the 0-licensing system must expect to go to prison.
The question of costs was adjourned until confiscation proceedings in September.