Dad and sons swindled National Trust out of £1 million

Ringleader Roger Bryant abused his position of trust in the National Trust to defraud the organisation of a hefty sum of money

A dad and his two sons who defrauded the National Trust out of £1 million have been sentenced. Roger Bryant, a former National Trust employee, worked as a building surveyor when he committed a series of frauds against the charity, fraudulently authorising 148 invoices, from two companies linked to his sons, for work that wasn’t completed.

The money was being directly transferred into the bank accounts of his two sons, James Bryant, 49, and Scott Bryant, 38, who were sentenced alongside their father. The trio, from Barnstaple, appeared at Bristol Crown Court on Friday (September 20) for sentencing.

His Honour Judge Burgess KC described Roger Bryant’s criminality as “audacious and protracted”, adding that he had a position of considerable trust within the National Trust and was responsible for a budget of more than half a million per year. Judge Burgess said that Roger Bryant actively abused his position and that his sons were consciously complicit in the offending.

The crimes were uncovered in October 2013, when the National Trust updated its approach to procurement; a company linked to Roger Bryant's son, James, was noted as the biggest supplier to the Trust in that area, though none of the managers had heard of it. When confronted, Roger Bryant said that the company in question had existed and had done the work.

The charity looked into the matter further and visited some of the sites to look at the 'work' they were not satisfied had been completed either in whole, or partly. Where work had taken place, it was not the same as had been specified on the schedule of works and was not the standard expected by the National Trust.

From January 2008 to October 2013, the National Trust believed it was paying two companies for work which had been completed: JR Contracting in most instances and SB Construction in others. During this time period the Trust made 112 payments totalling £1,061,096.29 in respect of invoices from JR Contracting.

The payments were made to one of two bank accounts, both controlled by James Bryant. Between February 2011 and October 2013 the Trust made 36 payments totalling £64,208.57 after invoices from SB Construction.

After the fraud was discovered, Roger Bryant tried to pervert the course of justice by asking two people to lie and claim they had witnesses work taking place at various locations, when they had not. The elder Bryant also arranged to move move cardboard boxes full of National Trust paperwork, such as deeds and plans, to an old milking shed on James Bryant’s farm, which he did not mention to the police, while at the same time claiming that the National Trust had lost paperwork that would prove his innocence.

In a separate fraud against the National Trust in 2013, Roger Bryant submitted invoices for a real contractor for work supposedly carried out on National Trust properties when the work had actually been carried out on Roger Bryant’s own property.

Evidence presented to the court included testimony from an expert building surveyor who examined locations where 'work' had supposedly been carried out at but ultimately finding no such evidence. Some of the properties were lived in by tenants who also had no recollection of any building work.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the two companies - JR Contracting and SB Construction - which had submitted 148 invoices authorised by Roger Bryant were not real. There was no record of any such company buying the large amounts of building supplies which would have been required to complete the work.

Bank account evidence showed money being transferred from the National Trust to accounts controlled by James and Scott Bryant nearly 150 times over the time period covered by the charges.

Sian Mitchell from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “As an employee of the National Trust, Roger Bryant had been placed in a position of trust, which he breached, committing a significant fraud against them. At every stage of the investigation he tried to mislead investigators, attempting to hide paperwork and even trying to persuade witnesses to lie. However, the prosecution was able to build a robust case to prove beyond doubt that he was guilty.

“The National Trust is a registered charity and the money defrauded should have gone to help continue its good work and benefit the public. We will not hesitate to prosecute cases of serious fraud such as this and we are pursuing confiscation proceedings against the defendants to remove any available funds from this fraud.”

Roger Bryant, of Coombe Close in Barnstaple, was convicted of 28 offences and sentenced to six and a half years in prison James, of Parracombe, Barnstaple, and Scott, of Church Close, Barnstaple, were found guilty of two charges of knowing – or at least suspecting – the money generated for their own companies by their father was the proceeds of crime. James was sentenced to four years in prison and Scott was handed a two years sentence suspended for 18 months.

Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Adam Bond said: “This has been a complex case hindered by the passage of time but due to the support and assistance given by representatives of the National Trust, the CPS and prosecuting counsel, the jury who sat through nearly three months of evidence were able to pass guilty verdicts on all but three of the charges leading to today's sentences.

“I would especially like to thank the witnesses in this case who have persevered throughout what has been a very lengthy investigation. The sentences passed today by His Honour Judge Burgess KC reflect the severity of this fraud, especially when considered the victim is a much-loved and respected charitable organisation responsible for much of the country’s building and countryside heritage."

The National Trust said: “We are pleased with the outcome of the court case against Roger Bryant (a former National Trust Buildings Surveyor) and sons, following a lengthy and detailed investigation by Devon and Cornwall Police and the Crown Prosecution Service. We trust our staff to do their jobs efficiently and honestly which is vitally important to an organisation responsible for looking after many different places in such a wide geographical area.

“We have all been very shocked at the crimes committed by a trusted of member of staff. We are immensely grateful for the diligence of the teams involved in this legal process who include, former and current National Trust staff, National Trust tenants, contractors, suppliers and especially Devon and Cornwall Police, whom without such perseverance would not have seen these crimes brought to justice.”