A military clerk 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, a court has been told.
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 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.
Stelmach-Purdie, from Oldham in Greater Manchester, 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.
Southwark Crown Court heard yesterday 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.
Former corporal Aaron Stelmach-Purdie, 34, (pictured) ran an expenses scam while working at Regent’s Park Barracks in central London
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 military clerk stole £1million from the Ministry of Defence to pay for hair transplants, Turkey teeth and a fake six pack
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.
All six defendants are due to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday.
