Fraudster skips bail and gets eight-year sentence
A furniture dealer who defrauded hoteliers and caterers out of an estimated £2.3m was last week sentenced to eight years in prison.
But Nicholas Wattiez, 52, skipped bail during the trial at Birmingham Crown Court and is 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 (Caterer, 24 March 1994, page 9).
On his release in 1996, Wattiez set up in Cambridgeshire to supply second-hand furniture to hotels, guesthouses and caterers. He operated under the name of Allied Wholesale.
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.
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