Businessman admits to £70,000 credit fraud

A MAN has admitted a £70,000 fraud by ordering goods on credit he did not intend to pay for.

Andrew Lee, 26, ordered thousands of pounds worth of items on credit, giving suppliers fake credit references for his Midlothian-based company.

Many suppliers did not check the references and Lee was able to get away with the scam for months, Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told yesterday.

Police were tipped off about his company, Phoenix Direct, and visited his premises at Bilston Glen Retail Park, Midlothian, in July 2005.

Yesterday, Lee, of Glasgow, pled guilty to obtaining £70,466 by fraud through Phoenix Direct, a company he set up for the purpose of gaining goods which he did not intend to pay for, and encouraging others to provide false trade references for him between August 2005 and February 2006.

Lee will be sentenced next month after background reports.