Fraudster sentenced to eight years in prison

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A furniture dealer who defrauded hoteliers and caterers out of an estimated £2.3m has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

But Nicholas Wattiez, 52, skipped bail during the trial at Birmingham Crown Court and is now on the run with a warrant out for his arrest.

It is not the first time Wattiez has been on the wrong side of the law. In 1994, he was jailed for four years after admitting to defrauding hoteliers and restaurateurs and running businesses while bankrupt.

On his release in 1996, Wattiez set up in Cambridgeshire to supply second-hand furniture to hotels, guesthouses and caterers.

Operating under the name of Allied Wholesale, he tendered to supply catering equipment and furniture for hotel bedroom refurbishments and bar fittings.

According to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which brought the prosecution, he bought in redundant stock from companies such as Hilton, JD Wetherspoon and Spaghetti House. But he entered into contracts he could not guarantee and double-booked orders.

He also routinely asked for a 25% deposit ahead of delivery, which often never arrived or bore no relation to the goods ordered. His cheques commonly bounced, said the SFO.

In 1998, he walked out on the business, leaving debts of several million pounds, and set up a similar firm, Admiral Contracts. He was finally arrested and charged by Cambridgeshire Constabulary in December 1999.

By Nic Paton