Fake Scottish tea fraudster who scammed luxury hotels out of £500k jailed for three years
A fake tea fraudster who conned luxury hotels and retailers into buying 'Scottish-grown' tea and made more than £550,000 has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Thomas Robinson, 55, was locked up at Stirling Sheriff Court on Wednesday. The crook, of Dunkeld, made more than half a million pound from the scam, where he told clients including Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel that he grew the tea plants at his Perthshire estate.
However, in reality, Robinson bought the tea from wholesalers in Italy for €3 before repackaging the plants and reselling them to retailers for five times the original cost.
Robinson's web of lies were laid bare during his trial.
The court heard how Robinson pretended to customers he had used innovative growing techniques - including a biodegradable polymer - to cultivate premium Camellia Sinensis tea plants.
He then fraudulently sold the plants to high-profile clients in the hospitality sector, including Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel and the Dorchester Hotel in London, as well as retailers between January 2014 and February 2019.
He also told prospective growers, clients and the wider public that he had sold the tea to Kensington Palace.
Robinson even claimed his tea was a favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth.
His scheme was unravelled following an investigation by Food Standards Scotland into his activities.
It discovered he was actually importing the plants for three Euros each – around £2.50 - and was collecting them from a mailbox in Glasgow.
He was then selling them for £12.50 each while insisting to clients and retailers that they were a sound financial investment.
Robinson also fabricated his academic status by falsely claiming he had qualifications in agronomy and agriculture and had obtained awards for his tea from industry bodies.
The jury found him guilty of two charges of being concerned in a fraudulent scheme.
He will now be subject to confiscation proceedings under Proceeds of Crime legislation to recover monies illegally obtained.
Ron McNaughton, Head of the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (SFCIU) at Food Standards Scotland, said: 'We welcome today's sentencing as a clear signal that food fraud is a serious crime with serious consequences.
'A three-and-a-half year custodial sentence reflects the scale and impact of Mr Robinson's deception. His actions caused real financial and reputational harm to individuals, businesses and a developing sector of genuine Scottish tea producers.
'This outcome is the result of a complex and painstaking investigation involving a dedicated team at FSS and the cooperation of partner agencies and key witnesses.
'It demonstrates that those who set out to mislead consumers and defraud businesses will be held accountable.
'Food fraud undermines consumer trust and damages the integrity of Scotland's globally respected food and drink sector. We remain committed to detecting and disrupting criminal activity of this nature.'
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