A former manager at Noble Foods has been sentenced to three years and eight months in prison after admitting fraud offences that cost the company more than £700,000.
Brian Sinclair, 54, of Oldham, appeared at Lincoln Crown Court on 27 April. He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of theft, four counts of fraud by false representation and two counts of fraud by abuse of position.
Sinclair worked at Noble Foods’ North Scarle operation for 20 years and was responsible for managing stock levels managing stock levels across the company, all their sites across the county and farm packers. An investigation by the Lincolnshire Police Economic Crime Unit found that between 2018 and 2019 he abused his position by diverting existing stock and placing false orders with manufacturers.
The court heard that Sinclair arranged for unnecessary stock movements between sites before organising haulage to remove materials for recycling, from which he personally profited. The company incurred losses through missing stock, payments for unnecessary orders and associated haulage costs. Investigators also found that invoices had been altered to avoid detection.
Detective Constable James Norton of the Economic Crime Unit described the offences as a “calculated and sustained abuse of trust” that caused significant financial harm to the business. He thanked Noble Foods for its cooperation throughout what police described as a long and complex investigation and confirmed that Proceeds of Crime action would now begin to recover assets linked to the offences.
Carl Price, Unit Head Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Sinclair had exploited his role as Packaging Manager to purchase and sell packaging materials to recycling centres without authority from his employer, while also diverting existing stock. He said Noble Foods suffered losses totalling £700,904 through the misappropriation of materials and associated haulage costs. The CPS confirmed it is pursuing confiscation proceedings to recover criminally obtained funds and assets.