Army veteran jailed as aunt exposes lie over Afghan tour

A FORMER soldier who escaped jail for fraud by pretending he had served in Afghanistan was caught after his aunt read a news report, a court has heard.

Ashley Thompson, 29, told his cousin Michael Green in 2020 that he had won £7,000 on an online gambling site and persuaded him to allow the “winnings” to be paid into his account, Gloucester Crown Court heard.

In fact there was no gambling win. Thompson had used Mr Green’s bank details to apply for a £7,000 loan in his cousin’s name, which Mr Green then transferred to him, thinking it was the proceeds of the win.

Mr Green was later shocked to receive details from Admiral Loans of the amount he owed them.

He told police and Thompson later admitted the fraud in court, but the judge was persuaded to defer sentence for four months after Thompson argued that he had post-traumatic stress disorder following two tours of duty in Afghanistan.

The judge had been told by Lloyd Jenkins, defending, at that hearing that he had been discharged from the army in 2017 after serving for seven years, and had resorted to using cocaine and gambling as an escape.

In deferring sentence, Judge Macmillan told Thompson: “I understand that you have drug and gambling addictions and over the next four months I want you to try and sort a few issues out to prove that you are turning your life around.”

However, soon after the hearing, Thompson’s aunt read an account on a Gloucestershire news website and alerted the authorities that he had lied about his army service and his alleged duty in Afghanistan.

Back before Gloucester Crown Court last week, Thompson admitted perverting the course of justice as well as the original fraud offence against his cousin.

He also admitted to cultivating cannabis, after police investigating the fraud offence went to his home and found 41 plants growing there.

Jailing Thompson for 36 months, Judge Rupert Lowe told him he was an inveterate liar who came up with fictitious stories to try to excuse or explain his criminal behaviour.

Judge Lowe told Thompson: “You are a thoroughly dishonest, manipulative and deceitful man.

“When you appeared before Judge Macmillan you said you were suffering from PTSD. That was a lie. You said you had served twice in Afghanistan in 2011 and 2014. That was not true either.”