Gambling addict has more than 80 previous offences
Guarantee you’ll never miss another crime story by signing up for our free email updates
A criminal, with more than 80 offences to his name, successfully bought numerous pieces of expensive farm machinery at auction and failed to pay the thousands of pounds he bid for them. Derby Crown Court heard how Thomas Scott took tractors, a telehandler and a quad bike during his spree of offending, often selling them on.
After taking delivery of the vehicles, the 38-year-old gambling addict then "made excuse after excuse" why he did not have the money. The defendant carried out a number of his offences in Derbyshire including one where he borrowed a trailer from a sailing club near Ashbourne and never returned it.
Read more Derbyshire crime stories
Jailing him for three years and 11 months, Recorder David Richards said: "There are a lot of offences to sentence you for. Offences of dishonesty in relation to farm machinery and that is an area and a community you are familiar with.
"You have used your familiarity with these people and the way things are done to facilitate repeated offences, taking high-value items and causing inconvenience and loss.
"(You were) preying upon the trust of those people who in this community assume that when someone bids for, for example, a tractor, they are who they say they are and they mean what they say they mean."
Matthew Rowcliffe, prosecuting, said the offences took place between 2019 and 2021.
He said Scott would typically successfully bid for the machinery from a speciality auctioneers called Stags.
The prosecutor said it included a John Deere tractor, a Ford tractor a John Deere telehandler and a quad bike worth a combined total of more than £25,000.
Mr Rowcliffe said the defendant also stole a £16,000 digger from a different victim.
And having been convicted 12 times before of driving while disqualified, he was caught three more times behind the wheel of a vehicle in either Derbyshire or Sheffield during his spree of offending.
Scott, of Lon Y Waen, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, pleaded guilty to offences of fraud, theft, handling stolen goods, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.
He has 23 convictions for 83 offences including a burglary for which he was jailed for 18 months.
Kelly Cyples, mitigating, said despite her client's addiction to gambling, he still has the support of his family.
She urged for any inevitable prison term to be suspended.
Miss Cyples said: "In relation to the auctioneer offences essentially this offending started out through a genuine purchase of items on behalf of others.
"There were items purchased and paid for by this defendant.
"This isn't particularly sophisticated offending, he still has a job offer in place and he has been in custody since August of last year.
"He wishes the court to know he is not the person he once was."
As well as the prison sentence, Recorder Richards also disqualified Scott from driving for four years and five months.
Fraudster bought thousands of pounds of farm machinery at auction but didn't pay – Derbyshire Live
