National Trust swindled out of £1m by crooked dad and son for bogus work

Roger Bryant, a former National Trust employee, worked as a building surveyor when he committed a series of frauds against the charity, fraudulently authorising 148 invoices, from two companies linked to his sons, for work that wasn't completed

A dad and his two sons have been slapped with sentences for swindling the National Trust out of a whopping £1 million.

Roger Bryant, an ex-employee turned crafty fraudster, abused his role as a building surveyor to siphon off funds, nodding through 148 dodgy invoices linked to his lads' companies for non-existent work. The stolen cash flowed directly into accounts held by his sons, James Bryant, 49, and Scott Bryant, 38, who faced justice with their old man at Bristol Crown Court on Friday (September 20).

His Honour Judge Burgess KC slammed the brazen trio, remarking on Roger's "audacious and protracted" deceit from a position flush with trust within the charity, overseeing a hefty annual budget. The judge didn't mince his words about the elder Bryant exploiting his post and clear evidence that his offspring knowingly played along in the scandal.

The ruse came crashing down in October 2013 when the National Trust revamped its procurement process, noticing a company tied to Rog's son James was oddly topping the supplier list without ringing any bells among the managers. Despite Roger Bryant's claims that the business was legit and had carried out the work, their jig was up.

The charity conducted an investigation, visiting several sites to inspect the 'work' they were not convinced had been fully or partially completed. Where work had been carried out, it did not match the specifications listed on the schedule of works and fell short of the National Trust's standards, reports Devon Live.

From January 2008 to October 2013, the National Trust believed it was paying two companies for completed work: JR Contracting in most cases and SB Construction in others. During this period, the Trust made 112 payments totalling £1,061,096.29 to JR Contracting.

These payments were made into one of two bank accounts, both controlled by James Bryant. Between February 2011 and October 2013, the Trust made 36 payments totalling £64,208.57 to SB Construction.

After the fraud was uncovered, Roger Bryant attempted to obstruct justice by asking two individuals to falsely claim they had seen work being done at various locations when they hadn't. The elder Bryant also arranged to move boxes full of National Trust documents, such as deeds and plans, to an old milking shed on James Bryant's farm.

He failed to mention this to the police while simultaneously claiming that the National Trust had misplaced paperwork that would prove his innocence.

In a separate scam against the National Trust in 2013, Roger Bryant submitted invoices for a legitimate contractor for work allegedly carried out on National Trust properties, when in fact, the work had been done on his own property.

The court was presented with evidence including testimony from an expert building surveyor who inspected locations where 'work' was supposedly done but found no such proof. Some of these properties were occupied by tenants who also had no memory of any construction work.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) stated that the two companies - JR Contracting and SB Construction - which had submitted 148 invoices authorised by Roger Bryant were fictitious. There was no record of either company purchasing the large quantities of building supplies needed to complete the work.

Bank records showed money being transferred from the National Trust to accounts controlled by James and Scott Bryant nearly 150 times over the period covered by the charges.

Sian Mitchell from the Crown Prosecution Service remarked: "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."

She emphasised, "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."

Roger Bryant, hailing from Coombe Close in Barnstaple, has been found guilty of 28 offences leading to a punishment of six and a half years behind bars. His sons James, residing in Parracombe, Barnstaple, and Scott, from Church Close, Barnstaple, were convicted on two counts of being aware or suspecting that their companies' income provided by their father was tainted with criminal activity.

The court sentenced James to a term of four years, whereas Scott received a two-year suspended sentence for 18 months.

Following the verdicts, Detective Inspector Adam Bond commented: "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."

He added: "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 when considered the victim is a much-loved and respected charitable organisation responsible for much of the country's building and countryside heritage."

The National Trust released a statement saying: "We are pleased with the outcome of the court case against Roger Bryant (a former National Trust Buildings Surveyor) and sons, following a lengthy and detailed investigation by Devon and Cornwall Police and the Crown Prosecution Service. We trust our staff to do their jobs efficiently and honestly which is vitally important to an organisation responsible for looking after many different places in such a wide geographical area."

"We have all been very shocked at the crimes committed by a trusted of member of staff. We are immensely grateful for the diligence of the teams involved in this legal process who include, former and current National Trust staff, National Trust tenants, contractors, suppliers and especially Devon and Cornwall Police, whom without such perseverance would not have seen these crimes brought to justice."