Farmer jailed for £4.3m red diesel fraud

A farmer has been jailed for his part in a £4.3m scam to defraud taxpayers through the sale of red diesel to haulage firms.

Michael Wilmot, 72, ran a sophisticated scam supplying red diesel to 35 HGV firms, York Crown Court heard.

He was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to evade paying excise duty on government-subsidised fuels between 1 March 2006 and 30 March 2012 and conspiracy to cheat Her Majesty’s Revenue. He had always denied the charges.

A judge sentenced Mr Wilmot, of Osgodby, near Market Rasen, in Lincolnshire, to seven years in jail.

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The court heard that Mr Wilmot was the “controller” of a gang of henchmen who secretly sold red diesel on the black market.

Lincolnshire Police officers started an investigation in early 2011 after initially stopping lorries that were running on red fuel.

They found that the vehicles had fake tanks housed within the main fuel tank, which meant that when the tank was dipped it showed it was running on white – but the bulk of the tank was actually filled with red.

Mr Wilmot oversaw an illegal operation selling red diesel to 35 HGV companies, who were able to undercut their competitors by using red fuel.

Three other gang members were jailed for a total of nine years and three months for their part in the fraud.

Lincolnshire Police’s Rachel Hughes, who started the investigation locally in Market Rasen before being joined by HMRC and VOSA, described Mr Wilmot as the “ringleader” in the scam and said he had shown “little, or no remorse”.

“These are crimes that have affected countless victims because the offenders were lining their pockets with British taxpayers’ money,” added PC Hughes.

“Not only has it had a huge impact on the economy but it has affected people locally because they have felt very let down.”