These criminals were brought to justice at Sheffield Crown Court after their offending was exposed, in some cases after a matter of months, and in others, after years of deceit.
Among the defendants pictured here is the manager of a facility who stole £640,000 from the vulnerable adults she was paid to look after; a man jailed for stealing from his family including hundreds of thousands of pounds of his late grandmother’s savings and a defendant put behind bars for fraudulently stealing over £200,000 from his employer by setting up profiles for fake agency workers.
All of the defendants were sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court. Some admitted their crimes, while others were found guilty after a trial.
Anyone wishing to report a crime should call South Yorkshire Police on 101.
All of the defendants were sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court. Some admitted their crimes, while others were found guilty after a trial.
![Sheffield Crown Court heard on April 4, 2022 how Jamie Woodcock, then aged 36, of Cemetery Road, Barnsley, defrauded a nurse out of £440 for gardening work he never completed and he also defrauded two further customers out of £4,125 and over £500 for building work that was never done.
Judge Jeremy Richardson QC said Woodcock had also grabbed his partner and pinned her to a wall after she had refused to help him hire a vehicle and when she finally helped him to hire a Kia Sportage he stole the vehicle.
He told Woodcock: “Some of these crimes were very mean-spirited for which prison must be imposed.”
Woodcock, who has previous convictions, admitted the gardening fraud from the summer of 2020, the building frauds from between December, 2020, and February, 2021, using coercive and controlling behaviour against his partner and the theft of a vehicle between October and November, 2020.
He also admitted stealing scrap metal from December, 2020, and to breaching a previously imposed suspended prison sentence from August, 2020.
Judge Richardson sentenced Woodcock to three years of custody and made him subject to a five-year restraining order to protect his former partner.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjI0YTRlOGI1LTk5ZjgtNGQzNS05OWM3LTQzZGI1OGQzMWVlODpmYmU3ZTVjZi0xMmI1LTQ3OGItYjk4YS0zM2NmMDU4YWJkM2Q=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
5. Jamie Woodcock: South Yorkshire conman jailed for duping customers out of cash for work he never completed
Sheffield Crown Court heard on April 4, 2022 how Jamie Woodcock, then aged 36, of Cemetery Road, Barnsley, defrauded a nurse out of £440 for gardening work he never completed and he also defrauded two further customers out of £4,125 and over £500 for building work that was never done. Judge Jeremy Richardson QC said Woodcock had also grabbed his partner and pinned her to a wall after she had refused to help him hire a vehicle and when she finally helped him to hire a Kia Sportage he stole the vehicle. He told Woodcock: “Some of these crimes were very mean-spirited for which prison must be imposed.” Woodcock, who has previous convictions, admitted the gardening fraud from the summer of 2020, the building frauds from between December, 2020, and February, 2021, using coercive and controlling behaviour against his partner and the theft of a vehicle between October and November, 2020. He also admitted stealing scrap metal from December, 2020, and to breaching a previously imposed suspended prison sentence from August, 2020. Judge Richardson sentenced Woodcock to three years of custody and made him subject to a five-year restraining order to protect his former partner. Photo: SYP
![Dianna Turner, whose ‘greed and arrogance’ led her to steal over £600,000 from the vulnerable adults she was paid ‘generously’ to look after, was jailed for seven years in April 2019.
Jurors found Turner guilty of defrauding 10 residents at the Glastonbury Guest House in Abbeyfield Road, Pitsmoor on Monday, following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
Prosecutor, Tom Storey, said Turner’s victims needed to be in supported living due to suffering from learning difficulties; mental health problems and addictions to drugs and alcohol.
Turner, of Ecclesfield Court, Ecclesfield was a manager at the accommodation for supported residents when she stole their money through cash withdrawals and standing orders, over a nine-year period.
The mum-of-three was in receipt of benefits while she committed the offences, and did not pay tax on her £50,000 salary.
Judge Graham Reeds QC calculated her annual income to be ‘the equivalent of someone with a gross salary not far short of £100,000 per year’.
As he sent her to begin her seven-year sentence, Judge Reeds told Turner: “During that whole time you were paid generously as the manageress of the business...what you did in committing this fraud can only be explained by greed.”
“Cynically, you abused your standing with the residents and your position of trust with them, and authority over them, to take as much of their money as you could for as long as you could. I am sure this was arrogance on your part. You decided they didn’t need the money as they were being well looked after at the home under your management, and that if they didn’t need the money you would take it.
“There can be no other sensible explanation for the systematic way in which the weekly and fortnightly payments to you, and withdrawals of cash correlated to the days upon which benefits were paid into the residents’ accounts,” added Judge Reeds.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjYzMGQyNWMwLWM4NjItNDkwYy1hYWI0LTQ4ZWY5YjhjNGUwNDozMTU1NTQ2NC1hYWRiLTRmNDMtYTM4NC00ZjAzYmY3MzRhOGQ=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
6. Dianna Turner: ‘Greedy and arrogant’ manager stole £640k from vulnerable adults she was paid ‘generously’ to care for
Dianna Turner, whose ‘greed and arrogance’ led her to steal over £600,000 from the vulnerable adults she was paid ‘generously’ to look after, was jailed for seven years in April 2019. Jurors found Turner guilty of defrauding 10 residents at the Glastonbury Guest House in Abbeyfield Road, Pitsmoor on Monday, following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court. Prosecutor, Tom Storey, said Turner’s victims needed to be in supported living due to suffering from learning difficulties; mental health problems and addictions to drugs and alcohol. Turner, of Ecclesfield Court, Ecclesfield was a manager at the accommodation for supported residents when she stole their money through cash withdrawals and standing orders, over a nine-year period. The mum-of-three was in receipt of benefits while she committed the offences, and did not pay tax on her £50,000 salary. Judge Graham Reeds QC calculated her annual income to be ‘the equivalent of someone with a gross salary not far short of £100,000 per year’. As he sent her to begin her seven-year sentence, Judge Reeds told Turner: “During that whole time you were paid generously as the manageress of the business...what you did in committing this fraud can only be explained by greed.” “Cynically, you abused your standing with the residents and your position of trust with them, and authority over them, to take as much of their money as you could for as long as you could. I am sure this was arrogance on your part. You decided they didn’t need the money as they were being well looked after at the home under your management, and that if they didn’t need the money you would take it. “There can be no other sensible explanation for the systematic way in which the weekly and fortnightly payments to you, and withdrawals of cash correlated to the days upon which benefits were paid into the residents’ accounts,” added Judge Reeds. Photo: SYP
![David Nicholas King, known as Nick, stole hundreds of thousands of pounds of his late grandmother's life savings, and 'frittered away' cash which had been given to him by other members of the family who thought he was going to invest it for them using his financial expertise.
Instead, King spent the money on holidays, designer clothing, expensive cars, days out shooting and even a trip to the Ryder Cup in the USA.
The 38-year-old, of Foolow, Eyam, Derbyshire, but previously of Sheffield, was sentenced to six years and four months in prison during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court in April 2019 after pleading guilty to three counts of theft and two counts of fraud by false representation.
On the three counts of theft, King was sentenced to four years, two years and two years respectively, to run concurrently.
On the two counts of fraud, he was handed 28 months and six months, with the 28 months to run consecutively with the four year theft sentence, giving a total sentence of six years four months.
Passing sentence, Judge David Dixon said: “The Crown’s case sets out that you have lied not once, not twice, but countless times. You have repeated these lies time and time again.
“The victims have been made a mockery of and the impact on your family has been huge. You were a selfish, self-centred, coward.”](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOmVkYTU0NTJkLWJkZTUtNGRhOC1hODAwLWNkM2YwNjkxNDhlZDo0Y2IzYjMwYy01OWFhLTRmYzItYmJkOS1iNjlmZmNhNTk2Yjk=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
7. David Nicholas King: Sheffield financial advisor who stole more than £600,000 from his own family jailed for over six years
David Nicholas King, known as Nick, stole hundreds of thousands of pounds of his late grandmother's life savings, and 'frittered away' cash which had been given to him by other members of the family who thought he was going to invest it for them using his financial expertise. Instead, King spent the money on holidays, designer clothing, expensive cars, days out shooting and even a trip to the Ryder Cup in the USA. The 38-year-old, of Foolow, Eyam, Derbyshire, but previously of Sheffield, was sentenced to six years and four months in prison during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court in April 2019 after pleading guilty to three counts of theft and two counts of fraud by false representation. On the three counts of theft, King was sentenced to four years, two years and two years respectively, to run concurrently. On the two counts of fraud, he was handed 28 months and six months, with the 28 months to run consecutively with the four year theft sentence, giving a total sentence of six years four months. Passing sentence, Judge David Dixon said: “The Crown’s case sets out that you have lied not once, not twice, but countless times. You have repeated these lies time and time again. “The victims have been made a mockery of and the impact on your family has been huge. You were a selfish, self-centred, coward.” Photo: SYP
![Thomas Armin, of High Street, Ecclesfield, was sentenced to three years behind bars in October 2020 after admitting fraudulently claiming wages of over £200,000 over a year-long period.
Armin pretended to have recruited seven workers and used his own bank account details on their agency profiles, so that their wages were paid directly to him.
South Yorkshire Police said his actions resulted from a desire to ‘enhance his overall lifestyle’.
Detective Constable Natalie Bettison said: “Armin’s actions surfaced after a meeting between his employer and one of their clients, where it was alleged that the client owed the agency money.
“Following the meeting, Armin called his boss admitting that he had ‘been stupid’ and ‘done things wrong’ and it transpired that he had defrauded his employers out of thousands of pounds. They took the right steps and reported Armin to police.”
During police interviews, Armin revealed he had set up false workers on the company’s payroll system and recording his own bank details against their names.
He then submitted fake timesheets meaning that each month their ‘wages’ went straight into his account.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOmEwNjc4NTI3LWNiMGQtNGY4MS05Yjc1LTU1MjAyNTRkYWU1NzoxOTVkNmU4Mi0yMWI5LTQwMzAtODRiZi1kMjI5ZjJlZDk2ZWQ=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
8. Thomas Armin: Sheffield recruitment consultant set up fake workers with his own bank details in £200,000 scam
Thomas Armin, of High Street, Ecclesfield, was sentenced to three years behind bars in October 2020 after admitting fraudulently claiming wages of over £200,000 over a year-long period. Armin pretended to have recruited seven workers and used his own bank account details on their agency profiles, so that their wages were paid directly to him. South Yorkshire Police said his actions resulted from a desire to ‘enhance his overall lifestyle’. Detective Constable Natalie Bettison said: “Armin’s actions surfaced after a meeting between his employer and one of their clients, where it was alleged that the client owed the agency money. “Following the meeting, Armin called his boss admitting that he had ‘been stupid’ and ‘done things wrong’ and it transpired that he had defrauded his employers out of thousands of pounds. They took the right steps and reported Armin to police.” During police interviews, Armin revealed he had set up false workers on the company’s payroll system and recording his own bank details against their names. He then submitted fake timesheets meaning that each month their ‘wages’ went straight into his account. Photo: SYP