Energy chief jailed for £2m fraud
A FORMER Kent County Coun- cil energy chief has been jailed for seven years after being found guilty of a £2million fraud. Ross Knowles (42), of Larking
Drive, Allington, bought a Jaguar car and luxury holidays, Maidstone Crown Court heard. He was head of energy pro- curement for Laser (Local Au- thorities South East Region) which buys gas and electricity for KCC, Kent Police and about 120 other local authorities, and
TRADERS saved the day when too few Beatles fans bought a ticket to rideonaMagicalMystery Tour commemorative trip toWest Malling. Organisershadplanned
to recreate the excite- ment created by the Fab Four in 1967 when they shot sequences of the cult film in the town. A replica coachwas due to bring fansfromNewquay,where other sceneswere filmed, to linkupwith West Malling. But the tripwas abandoned days before itwas due to set off, when passengers pulled out. However, theWestMalling fixturewasasuccess, with farmers’market
traders dressing up in Sixties gear and a visit from 1960s classic cars. Parish council chairman County Cllr Trudy Dean said: “Everyone had
alot of fun and everythingwent ahead as planned, butwithout thebus.” One of the coach tour organisers, Keith Gray said: “After all thework
that’s gone into it, it’s a nightmare ending. In the beginning we had dozens of interested parties, and for whatever reason those numbers dwindled, andwere not replaced.”
was responsible for the bulk purchase of energy worth hun- dreds of millions of pounds from Centrica. But unknown to KCC Com- mercial Services, which own LASER, Knowles negotiated a management fee with Centrica, of 0.04 pence per kilowatt hour, to be added to the electric en- ergy supplied and used. Fraudulent invoices with LASER branding were sent to Centrica, bearing an address in
Tour off, but town’s still rocking
West Malling close to KCC. Ac- count details provided were in the name of Mr R Knowles, t/a (trading as) LASER. Between July 2009 and De- cember 2010, £2,173,246 was paid to the fraudulent account. Knowles was arrested at his
work place in January, 2011. DC Mark Agnew said: “Knowles deliberately set out to fraudulently secure a vast amount of money for himself. “He moved around £260,000
THE Earl and Countess of Wessex will visit the Boxley Parish Community Orchard at Penhurst Close, Grove Green, on Thursday, May 31, on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen, in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee. Martin Pepper, chairman
of the parish council, said: “This is amassive honour for the parish council and the community, and I can’t think of a better way to launch and introduce the new orchard than with the support of Their Royal Highnesses. “The council hopes the community will turn out to welcome our guests and join in the fun. “More details will be issued
to other bank accounts that he controlled, and spent about £140,000 on luxury purchases including a Jaguar car and holi- days.
“The investigation was com-
plex, but the fraud itself was quite straightforward. “But our work doesn’t end
with Knowles’ imprisonment. We’ve frozen his bank account and now we’ll go through the process of clawing back the pro- ceeds of his crimes.”
Royal couple to open orchard
and placed on the council’s website and notice boards, so everyone can become in- volved. The visit is part of the build-up to the official Dia- mond Jubilee weekend of the June 2, 2012, and the com- munity orchard has been planted by the parish council in recognition of the celebra- tions. The project recalls the old
apple and cherry orchards, which were a traditional fea- ture of the area. The orchard has been planted with fruit and nut trees and will include a natu- ral area for wildlife. A neg- lected playground on the site has been refurbished.
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