IN THE NEWS
PLYMOUTH CHAUFFEUR BOSS GUILTY OF £120,000 FRAUD AGAINST WEALTHY TOY INVENTOR
A crooked Plymouth businessman secretly cheated a wealthy customer out of £120,000 to buy family holidays, cars and even a self-cleaning toilet, a jury has decided. Chauffeur company boss Russell Bleazard, 50, siphoned money out of the elderly man’s account to prop up his firm and line his pockets, a court heard. He bought a fleet of five new vehicles, including three BMWs, for his business using debit card details with- out the knowledge of the company account holders. Bleazard conned a man he described as a friend - Devon-based toy inventor and executive Thomas Kremer over about seven months. He then span a web of lies and tall tales claiming Mr Kremer allowed him to use the company account to treat his fami- ly and support his business Regency Cars 4 Airports. Bleazard claimed that Mr Kremer, who died aged 87 in 2017, authorised him to take holidays to South Africa, Spain and Cyprus, buy new vehicles for the business, fit out his bathroom and order a £4,000 Japanese self-cleaning toilet from Amazon. He even said that he was allowed to use £1,500 from Mr Kremer’s company, Seven Towns, to buy a sewing machine for his own invention of an automatic sauce-stirring device. A jury found him guilty of two counts of fraud by unanimous verdicts after a four-day trial at Plymouth Crown Court. His wife, Jacqueline Bleazard, 51, was acquitted of a single count of money-laundering by knowingly hold- ing most of the criminal cash in the business account. The jury decided by a unanimous verdict that she knew nothing about the source of the money in the Regency Cars account. Judge William Mousley ordered a pro- bation report and released Bleazard on bail until sentencing on December 9. The judge told him: “I am releasing you
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on bail for sentencing. Do not take this as any indication of what will happen in the case”. Tom Bradnock, for the CPS, said there would be no legal action to try and seize any assets from the fraudster.
Bleazard obtained the card details properly when taking payment for ser- vices to Seven Towns, the court heard. He and his drivers used to chauffeur company founder and boss Mr Kremer between his home near Honiton and meetings and hospital in London. Bleazard simply used the company card details to transfer about £85,000 to the Regency Cars account and buy about £35,000 in goods and services for himself. The spending was only uncovered by his son and fellow boss David Kremer when his father died in June 2017.
SCOTS TAXI DRIVER PROVOST KICKED OUT OF COUNCIL MEETING ON NEW TAXI RULES
A taxi driving provost had to be kicked out of a public meeting on new cab hire rules over a conflict of interest, it has been claimed. The Daily Record reports that East Dunbartonshire Council’s provost, Alan Brown, 57, is said to have insisted he was only there as an “observer” – despite the group he works with being awarded millions of pounds of contracts since he took the flagship role, comparable to an English Mayor. But insiders claim he was told being in the meeting was “hugely inappropri- ate” while officials thrashed out new rules for cabs and he was forced to leave by the authority’s chief lawyer. Last month it was revealed that East Dunbartonshire Taxi Operator and Drivers Association – of which Brown is a member – had been awarded more than £3 million in council contracts since he became provost in 2017. Brown insisted he excused himself from all council meetings where taxi busi- ness was discussed.
But insiders said he had a blazing row with legal director Karen Donnelly at the public meeting when the council brought in taxi changes.
A source said: “This was a terrible mis- calculation by Cllr Brown. It was embarrassing for everyone involved. It was a stand-up shouting row – he should never have been there.” Brown said he couldn’t remember the incident. He said: “It’s not against the rules for councillors to attend other committees.” Brown, 57, isn’t a member of the Policy and Resource Committee, which con- sulted on changes to taxi rules between October 2018 and 2019. The new rules tightened up requirements for drivers to work safely. East Dunbartonshire Council denied the row and said it was “inappropriate” to say if Brown was asked to leave.
DECEMBER 2021
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