A businessman’s fraud led to Southend Council returning £360,000 in housing grants after he forged documents to claim excess funds
Southend: So, there’s this guy named Oliver Schneider who really messed up. He forged a bunch of documents to claim over £110,000 more than he actually spent on a housing project. This whole thing forced Southend City Council to hand back more than £360,000 in grants. Yikes!
It all started with the “Really Smart House Project,” which was a team effort between the council, South Essex Homes, and a company called The Facility Architects, where Schneider was a co-director. They were trying to make homes more eco-friendly, and the project was partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Things got fishy back in 2013 when the council noticed some weird stuff in the invoices and bank statements from The Facility Architects. They kicked off an investigation in 2019, and boy, did they find some shady dealings!
Turns out, Schneider had been altering and forging documents, which allowed his company to claim way more money than they were entitled to. Because of this, the council had to return a hefty sum to the ERDF. And get this—Schneider didn’t even get jail time! He got a two-year sentence, but it’s suspended for 18 months.
He admitted to five counts of forgery, and there are still 17 other fraud charges hanging over him. Paul Collins, a councillor in Southend, said this whole situation shows how serious they are about protecting public funds. They’re not letting fraudsters off the hook easily!
Despite the delays caused by the pandemic, the council is determined to recover their losses and keep an eye out for any more fraud. It’s a big deal because fraud like this can really hurt their ability to provide important services to the community.
