Married couple funded lavish lifestyle by washing 700,000 used stamps then selling them as if new on Amazon and eBay in elaborate £225,000 fraud
- Paul and Samantha Harrison made more than £200,000 in stamp fraud
- They used proceeds to buy a BMW with personalised plates and lavish holidays
- Harrison sold around 700,000 stamps resulting in Royal Mail losing £421,000
A married couple whose lavish lifestyle was funded by washing 700,00 used stamps and selling them as new on eBay and Amazon have been convicted of fraud.
Paul Harrison, 52, defrauded Royal Mail out of more than £400,000 by removing the stamps’ frank marks so they could be passed off as new to people online.
He and his wife Samantha, 44, used the proceeds of the elaborate fraud to pay for luxury holidays and a BMW with personalised number plates.
Mr Harrison was involved in the sale of around 700,000 stamps which resulted in Royal Mail losing £421,000, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
Just over £215,000 of the money went into the Harrisons’ joint account, while his accomplice Graham Rought pocketed £43,000, their trial was told.
Mr Harrison was today jailed for four years at Birmingham Crown Court after being convicted of adapting, supplying and possessing articles for fraud. He had previously admitted money laundering and another charge of supplying articles for fraud.
After recruiting his wife to take part in the scam, she was convicted of money laundering and given a two-year suspended prison sentence with 150 hours unpaid work.
Paul Harrison and his wife Samantha (pictured outside Birmingham Crown Court) defrauded Royal Mail out of more than £400,000 as they duped customers into buying stamps on Amazon and eBay
Ben Close, prosecuting, told the court the trio bought large quantities of second hand stamps through the postage system, removed from envelopes, and sold them on so they could be reused.
He added: ‘Paul Harrison accepts he put them on grease proof paper to make them appear as if new.
‘Rought was involved in washing off the franking marks.’
He said Paul Harrison had run an account called Affordable Stamps since June 2007.
Stamps were bought by Harrison in kiloware and traded on Amazon and eBay. Rought had been involved in the fraud for two and half years.
An investigation was launched in 2015 when a large quantity of envelopes were rejected at a sorting office in Glasgow.
Tests showed there were no signs of phosphor on the stamps, which were mainly addressed to schools in Scotland, and they were traced back to the Harrisons.
He said when their home was searched evidence was found of the process.
Graham Rought leaving Birmingham Crown Court
He added: ‘There were some flirtatious exchanges between them because Rought thought he was speaking to Samantha Harrison.’
Recorder Naomi Ellenbogen QC told Paul Harrison: ‘It is clear to me this was a calculated business activity, the proceeds of which were your prime income.
‘The fraud took place over a period of just short of nine years. You made considerable gain from these offences.’
Katie Rafter, for Samantha Harrison, said she had ‘turned a blind eye to her husband’s activities’ but must have had suspicions about them.
Harrison was previously convicted of adapting, supplying and possessing articles for fraud. He had admitted money laundering and another charge of supplying articles for fraud.
His wife, 44, of the same address, was convicted of money laundering. She was given a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work.
Graham Rought, from Tile Cross in Birmingham, had previously admitted adapting, supplying and possessing articles for fraud and money laundering.
The former dental technician was handed an 18 month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to do 85 hours unpaid work