A Scottish court heard on 18 June that James Campbell duped Spanish turbine supplier Gamesa – now part of Siemens Gamesa – into paying inflated fees for the escort service provided by the Scottish Police Authority and South Wales Police.
Campbell, 51, of Bearsden, near Glasgow, admitted altering invoices from the police bodies and passing on the inflated prices to Gamesa.
Airdrie sheriff court heard he was a director of West of Scotland Heavy Haulage Limited when the fraud was committed during 2016 and 2017. The company has since been dissolved.
West of Scotland Heavy Haulage had a contract with Gamesa to transport wind farm components when they arrived in the UK. The Spanish turbine manufacturer merged with Germany-based Siemens Wind Power in 2017.
Campbell was originally accused of obtaining £166,221 by fraud, but the court accepted his guilty plea to an amended charge involving the reduced sum.
It was also alleged that he defrauded Danish firm DSV Air and Sea of £34,610 in a similar scam, but his not guilty plea to that charge was accepted. Co-accused Edward Bruce, 31, of Cumbernauld, walked free when his not guilty pleas to both charges were accepted.
The court was told Gamesa had raised suspicions about the inflated payments in June 2017.
Campbell’s home and business premises were searched and he was arrested and charged in January 2019. Defence lawyer Mark Moir said Campbell committed the “reckless” crime because the family business was struggling financially.
The judge, sheriff Paul Haran, acknowledged that Campbell had only a minor record for traffic offences, had repaid the money obtained by fraud and, by pleading guilty, had saved witnesses from Spain, Denmark and Wales having to travel to give evidence in a trial.
But Haran added: “This fraud was committed over a prolonged period and involved a significant sum. There must be a deterrent for this type of offence and, therefore, there is no suitable alternative to custody.”
Campbell was jailed for 16 months and disqualified from being a company director for five years. He is appealing the sentence.
Siemens Gamesa declined to comment on the case.
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