Sheriff deems false claims not for personal gain

A SHERIFF has ordered a man who submitted false quotations in a bid to secure funding for a Fort William play area be of good behaviour for a year.

Norman Clark, 54, admitted knowingly submitting false statements between November 3, 2011 and December 4, 2012, along with an application for funding for the children’s play area in the town’s Nevis Centre to be revamped in a £200,000 overhaul.

At Fort William Sheriff Court on Tuesday (March 28), solicitor Hamish Melrose explained the Nevis Centre is owned by the Highland Council and has been run by Linnhe Leisure, a registered charity, since 1997.

Mr Clark, of Corpach, was invited to become a director of Linnhe Leisure in 2003 because of his expertise in building. In this capacity, Clark applied to the Highland LEADER programme for the funding.

Mr Melrose said, in line with requirements for the grant, Clark had sought three quotations from companies to carry out the work but had found difficulty in receiving these. In fact, only one quote was forthcoming. In a bid to ‘get the job done’, Clark submitted the false quotations and ‘Oak Cottage Development’ was awarded the contract.

The court heard a whistleblowing letter was sent to HC in May 2013 and the wrong doing was uncovered.

While Mr Clark had knowingly falsified the quotations and despite the fact he was the account holder of where the grant was transferred, he did not receive any personal benefit.

Instead Mr Melrose said Clark’s motives were honourable even if he knew the rules were being broken, adding: ‘ Mr Clark left the board of Linnhe Leisure in 2013 after 10 years of service which he tells me accounts for around 2,000 hours work.’

Mr Melrose added these hours were voluntary, Mr Clark had not been paid for his role but that he had continued to supervise the project which was carried out by local businessmen. ‘It was not for personal gain but he supervised it to completion,’ summed up Mr Melrose.

Sheriff said: ‘This is a highly unusual case. It appears false pretence was not for personal gain but to benefit the citizens of Fort William. I keep this in mind, along with your good character and the fact you have no previous convictions. I will defer sentence for one year to show further good behaviour.’

Sentence was deferred until March 27, 2018.