'Love Island' lifestyle military gang who stole almost £1m from MoD handed learn fate

A gang of counter-terrorism military clerks who stole almost £1 million from the have been sentenced. A catastrophic failure of financial checks and balances allowed the group to make hundreds of false claims from the Ministry of Defence in the , a court heard.

Six people were involved in the operation, run by ringleader Corporal Aaron Stelmach-Purdie, 33, from Oldham, who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle and flaunted his wealth - getting cosmetic procedures done in including teeth-whitening, abdominal implants and a hair transplant. A search of his home also uncovered nine pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes, a Louis Vuitton luggage set and a £285,000 Ranger Rover Overfinch.

Stelmach-Purdie was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday to three years and four months for fraud and money laundering.

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Five other military clerks who were employed at the Regent's Park Barracks - former sergeant Roger Clerice, 28, Allan O'Neil, 48, Lee Richards, 41, Anthony Sharwood, 38, and Peter Wilson, 55 - were sentenced alongside Stelmach-Purdie after they were convicted on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud.

Sharwood, from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment suspended for two years, and 100 hours of unpaid work. Stelmach-Purdie's line manager, Clerice, who then worked as a sergeant in the department, received £11,278.90 from the fraud. He was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment suspended for two years, and 100 hours' unpaid work.

O'Neil, a former sergeant from Droitwich in Worcestershire, had £6,615.80 of fraudulent claims pass through his bank account. He was sentenced to a 12-month community order by the judge with a condition of 100 hours' unpaid work.

Stelmach-Purdie admitted seven counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and one count of disguising or transferring criminal property. O'Neil admitted disguising or transferring criminal property, Sharwood admitted one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and one count of transferring criminal property, and Wilson admitted conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and transferring criminal property. Today they were sentenced to X.

The group used the Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system to carry out the fraud, Southwark Crown Court heard, and between December 2014 and January 2016 they put through 221 false expense claims which totalled £911,608. Military personnel are able to claim 'operational allowances' while working abroad, covering things such as air fare.

The unit the group worked for has not been named, however, it was said to be highly classified. Jurors were told it was "very classified" and that those working in the unit were said to be "revered and respected" by the rest of the .

Stelmach-Purdie was described as a "narcissist" who splurged thousands of pounds on luxury goods. Jurors at Southwark Crown Court were told they "were not allowed to know soldiers' names or their regiment" due to their "hush hush" line of work. However, Stelmach-Purdie was described to them as a "Walter Mitty character who lived in a fantasy " which he funded by exploiting those close to him.

"He had all the trappings of wealth, plenty of money to indulge in cosmetic procedures, teeth whitening. It was something straight out of ," said Jonathan Rose, defending. Detective John Slater told jurors that when police searched Stelmach-Purdie's home: "It was almost like something from Pimp my Ride."

Simon Lees, a 31-year-old plumber from Oldham, denied laundering £270,000 through his bank accounts within six months. The jury failed to reach a verdict against him after a two week trial. During that trial, Dominic Connolly, prosecuting, said the case involved "a series of frauds carried out by employees of the MoD who were employed at their administrative headquarters at the Regent's Park Barracks.

"Put simply, a number of military personnel employed at that location made a series of fictitious claims to expenses and allowances that they were not entitled to," he added. He went on to say that a "considerable sum of money was thereby obtained".

A soldier, referred to simply as 'Soldier R', told the trial £500,000 went through his bank account in six months, but giving evidence from behind a screen, he said he had "no reason" to question Stelmach-Purdie's integrity.

Lees had known Stelmach-Purdie since childhood, and agreed to help his friend when he asked to use his bank account, saying he had fallen out with his and was being deployed to . In the space of six months, Lee said £250,000 was paid into his bank account, but eventually he grew tired of Stelmach-Purdie constantly asking him to check if a transfer had been made into his account.

Lees told police he was not entirely clear what Stelmach-Purdie did at the MoD, saying "I don't know what he does". He added: "All I know is that he works at the MoD, that's all he ever told me. He just works in the MoD in intelligence, that's it."

The anonymous soldier added that Stelmach-Purdie "was always willing to go that extra mile". Roger Clerice, 47, who served in the Household Cavalry Regiment, admitted money laundering, and Lance Sergeant Lee Richards, 41, was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud and transferring criminal property after a three week trial.

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