A military clerk who stole nearly £1million from the Ministry of Defence to pay for hair transplants, Turkey teeth and cosmetic surgery for a fake six-pack in an expenses scam has today been jailed.
Former corporal Aaron Stelmach-Purdie, 34, ran the scheme while working at Regent’s Park Barracks in central London.
He defrauded taxpayers of £911,677, of which he kept £557,093 for himself.
Stelmach-Purdie, of from Oldham in Greater Manchester, had a love for the good life – undergoing a hair transplant and flying to Turkey for teeth-whitening and abdominal implants.
Officers searched his home and found nine pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes, a Louis Vuitton luggage set and three Patek Philippe watches which turned out to be fake.
Stelmach-Purdie, ran the expenses swindle with the help of five others, who appeared before him in court yesterday and were convicted of money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud.
He was told he faces jail for fraud and money laundering after uploading fake claims onto an online admin portal from November 2014 to January 2016.
He has today been jailed for three years and four months at Southwark Crown Court.
Former corporal Aaron Stelmach-Purdie, 34, (pictured) ran an expenses scam while working at Regent’s Park Barracks in central London
The court previously heard how he was assisted by five other clerks, former sergeant Roger Clerice, 28, Allan O’Neil, 48, Lee Richards, 41, Anthony Sharwood, 38, and Peter Wilson, 55.
Prosecutor Domonic Connolly told the court: ‘This case concerns a series of frauds carried out by a number of employees of the Ministry of Defence at their administrative headquarters situated within Regents Park Barracks in Central London.
‘These defendants, who were all employed at the Regent’s Park Barracks made a series of fictitious claims to expenses and allowances that they were not entitled to.
‘As a result of these frauds, there has been a loss of public funds totalling £911,677.66. These are public funds that had been demarcated for the defence of the realm and the protection of its armed services.’
Prosecutors said the fraud centred around the use of the Joint Personal Administration (JPA) – an online administrative system used by the UK armed forces to pay the salaries of staff, including claims for expenses and allowances.
While he was responsible for the management of claims to expenses and allowances, Stelmach-Purdie used his position to make fraudulent claims on his JPA account and on the accounts of others, the court was told.
He then used the bank accounts of third parties, including his mother and sister, to conceal the proceeds of the fraud, the court heard.
The other defendants told the court they were approached by Stelmach-Purdie in or shortly after December 2014, when he claimed he had found a way to ‘make some money manipulating JPA’, prosecutors said.
The military clerks ran the expenses scam from London’s Regent’s Park Barracks (pictured)
Stelmach-Purdie’s line manager Clerice, who was an administration specialist, received £7,691 from the fraud. He pleaded guilty to money laundering.
Wilson, a former lance sergeant who retired from the army in October 2015, continued to receive £230,400 in fraudulent claims made by Stelmach-Purdie for months until December 31 2015.
Between June and December 2015, Wilson’s JPA account was used to make 28 fraudulent claims totalling £378,662.
Sharwood, a former corporal in the Royal Marines who retired from the Armed Forces in January this year, was involved in eight fraudulent expenses claims made between January 2015 and November 2015, totalling £28,935.
The defendant, from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, admitted to conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering in March 2023.
Richards, a former lance sergeant from Amesbury in Wiltshire, was convicted by a jury of 103 fraudulent claims made between March 2015 and January 2016, totalling £434,825.
He retained approximately £160,000 of that sum, the court heard.
Wilson, from Kidderminster in Worcestershire, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering in March 2023.
The total value of the fraud he pleaded guilty to is £385,432 involving 28 fraudulent claims made between June 2015 and January 2016.
A total of £378,662.26 passed through his bank account, £149,781 of which he retained, the court was told.
O’Neil, a former sergeant from Droitwich in Worcestershire, was involved in three fraudulent claims totalling £18,218, and has pleaded guilty to money laundering.
Stelmach-Purdie, whom the court heard was involved in all of the 161 fraudulent claims, was dismissed from the Armed Forces in January 2016 after he was convicted and sentenced over four counts of sexual activity with a child.
When interviewed by police shortly after over his fraudulent activity, Stelmach-Purdie said he became involved because of the state of poor mental health brought about by the sexual allegations made against him.
Prosecutor Connolly told the judge: ‘When he (Stelmach-Purdie) commenced his job in administration, he was aware people were making claims for allowances that they were not entitled to.
‘He claimed he felt people knew of these proceedings and would use it against him if he didn’t comply with their claims.
‘He would allow claims to go through for a percentage in return.
Stelmach-Purdie pleaded guilty to seven counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and one count of money laundering in August 2023.
Today, Stelmach-Purdie was jailed for three years and four months, half of which he will serve in custody.
Richards was given a two year prison sentence suspended for two years, and will have to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. Friends and family of Richards wept with joy in the public gallery as he walked free.
Wilson also received a 24 month prison sentence suspended for two years, and will have to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
O’Neil was given a 12 month community order, which will require him to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
Sharwood was given a 15 month prison sentence suspended for two years, and he will have to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
Clerice was given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two years, and he will also have to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
Judge Philip Bartle said: ‘161 fraudulent claims were made between November 2014 and January 2016.
‘Mr Stelmach-Purdie was central to the commission of these frauds, and it would not have happened without his involvement. Without him none of the other defendants would have been involved in these offences.
‘He used his position to make fictitious claims. He made fraudulent claims on his JPA account and on the accounts of others.
‘While a JPA [Joint Personnel Allowance] user should never disclose their JPA password to others, the other defendants allowed Mr Stelmach-Purdie to use their passwords so that he could access their JPA accounts.
‘Mr Stelmach-Purdie used the bank account of his friend Simon Lees to enable Mr Stelmach-Purdie to hide the proceeds of the fraud. Mr Lees stood trial with Mr Richards.’
‘As messages to Simon Lees show, Mr Stelmach-Purdie was prepared to tell him to lie about the source of the money paid into his bank account, and brow beat him into continuing to accept very large sums of money.’
When Stelmach-Purdie was interviewed by the police he claimed that he had been struggling with mental health issues when he became involved in the fraud.
‘Mr Stelmach-Purdie outlined that he had been in the army since he was sixteen, and had performed traumatising tours in Afghanistan,’ said Judge Bartle.
‘He claimed that he became involved when in a poor mental state brought about by court proceedings relating to sexual allegations against him.
‘He lied to his mother his sister, and to Mr Lees-all of whose bank accounts were used- as to where the money came from.’
The judge referred to text messages between Stelmach-Purdie and Wilson discussing the fraud.
‘The messages used a code referring to ‘flights’. So they referred to ‘flights landing’ as code for money being paid into an account through the JPA.’
