David Gale, 60, formerly of Albany Road, St Leonards, Sussex, was sentenced to 20 months in prison on 16 November at Brighton Crown Court after pleading guilty to participating in fraudulent business carried out by a sole trader.

According to Sussex Police, the conviction would not have been possible had not a group of printers, who had all been targeted by Gale, come together over the past three years, alongside industry credit monitoring organisation ICSM.

Detective constable Rachel Ling of Hastings CID, who led the investigation, said: "Without the printers it would have been a civil claim. Thanks to them we were able to prove that it was the same story over and over again.

"We wouldn’t have had a case without them. It will hopefully send a message to other print companies, if there are other David Gales out there, printers need to come forward."

Gale committed a campaign of fraud between 2006 and 2010, targeting print businesses and taxi firms (see below) across England and Wales, profiting to a total amount of £55,000.

Colourset Litho’s Russel Henderson said: "We were unfortunate to get involved with Gale over a four-month period, during which time we invoiced for more than £10,000. Only around £1,500 was ever received. "

Danny Saines at ADS Colour in Kent added: "Although the money is long gone, what really impressed me was the way that the affected printers all got together and joined forces."

Despite the outcome, Harcourt Litho’s Steve Astins said that he was disappointed when Gale changed his plea to guilty the night before the trial, rendering the printers’ evidence unnecessary.

He said: "It denied a few of us our time in court and I think if we had been able to go into the witness box he would have got a lot more time. But, I am pleased with the outcome and the way we all worked together."

---

GALE'S SCAM
Gale’s fraud involved promising to produce business cards and leaflets for taxi firms. He took money from the taxi firms and supplies from print businesses. However, he never delivered any print work nor paid for the supplies he took from the print companies.