Luton fraudster jailed for pocketing £60k worth of fake Covid grants from council

A man from Luton has been jailed after defrauding North Herts Council out of over £61,000 in fake Covid grants.

Christopher Andoh-Wilson, 32, was the Town Centre Manager for Letchworth Garden City Business Improvement District (BID) between 1 April 2019 and 21 July 2021.

He was originally sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on December 1 last year to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years. Now, he has been resentenced to 20 months behind bars, after his “glowing character witness statements” were found to be fake.

Mr Andoh-Wilson pleaded guilty to five offences under The Fraud Act 2006 and one offence under The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, but was spared immediate prison time after the judge was shown with glowing character witness statements during his sentencing.

Soon it came to light that two of the character references given by Mr Andoh-Wilson’s representatives were not genuine, Hertfordshire County Council has said. One of the documents he presented was a certificate purportedly from the Mayor of Luton awarded for his service within the local community. It was revealed that the person who signed the certificate was not the Mayor of Luton at the time the certificate was allegedly awarded. The second statement was an employers reference which Mr Andoh-Wilson had forged without the knowledge of his employers. Following this, Hertfordshire County Council made an application to the court to consider a variation of sentence.

Mr Andoh-Wilson had worked as the town centre manager Letchworth Garden City Business Improvement District (BID) between 1 April 2019 and 21 July 2021. By using the details of businesses within Letchworth Garden City, which he had access to through his job, he made applications for several COVID business grants from North Herts Council. These funds were put into bank accounts which he controlled.

He further abused his position, by fraudulently keeping funds paid by local businesses for trading or street licences that should have been paid to North Herts Council.

The fraudulent activity against North Herts Council and Letchworth Garden City BID amounted to £61,015.86 and Hertfordshire County Council’s Shared Anti-Fraud Service is working with the courts to recover this money under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis, leader of North Herts Council, said: “The resentencing of Mr Andoh-Wilson highlights how he continues to abuse his position and take advantage of the trust placed in him by our community. This is not acceptable, and this case highlights that we take any cases of fraud very seriously. Alongside our partners, we continue to do all that we can to help identify, deter, and prosecute any person found to be committing fraud offences against the council and hope that this will act as a deterrent to others.”

Councillor Bob Deering, executive member for resources and performance at Hertfordshire County Council, said: “I would like to express my thanks to the Judge, our own staff and management of the Letchworth Business Improvement District who worked closely to deliver justice in this case. This was a fraud that abused funds intended to help businesses in the Letchworth area recover from the COVID pandemic, instead Mr Andoh-Wilson sought to gain financially.”

“My message is clear – if you seek to commit fraud against public bodies in Hertfordshire and further afield - your time is coming.”

Richard Harbon, Letchworth Garden City BID manager, said: "Mr Andoh-Wilson abused the trust of businesses in Letchworth town centre at one of the most challenging periods in the town's history. He systematically stole money donated by the businesses and money intended to support these businesses for himself. The thorough and excellent investigation by Hertfordshire County Council, supported by the BID, sends out a clear message that wrong doings of this nature will be proactively investigated.”