Swindler Douglas Brown siphoned off £2m

Jul 3 2011 by Sara Nichol, Sunday Sun

TODAY the Sunday Sun can reveal the secret life of one of the biggest fraudsters the North has ever seen.

Cunning Douglas Brown nearly brought an international company to its knees when he siphoned off more than £2.4m over 11 years to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Now exclusive extracts from his diaries show the guilt and self-doubt he was fraught with during his scam.

Brown appeared to be a normal family man – entrusted to run Palmer UK, the British-operation of American firm Palmer International, Inc.

But behind closed doors he plundered funds for more than a decade through an elaborate scheme.

The business boss claimed he was making pre-payments to suppliers of Cashew Nut Shell Liquid, used by Palmer UK, based in Hartlepool, in the manufacture of brake-linings. Instead he was pocketing the money.

Brown tricked auditors by laying a false paper trail, while keeping real records of how he had switched the cash in locked cabinets in his office

The 63-year-old, former co-chief executive of the company, was jailed for seven years in 2009 after admitting 31 counts of obtaining money transfers by deception between November 1995 and February 2007.

Today, ahead of a confiscation order for Brown’s ill-gotten gains next week, the Sunday Sun reveals the fraudster’s deceitful mindset after gaining exclusive access to his secret journal.

The personal log was found by police late in the major investigation and helped snare the white-collar crook.

The probe, which began in 2007, was helped by diary entries foolishly outlining some of Brown’s insecurities during his decade-long scam.

The notes also recorded some of the fraudulent cheques he cashed, later exchanging from dollars to pounds.

The diary shows how Brown, of Houghton-le-Spring, Sunderland, and his wife lived a life of fine-dining, luxury cars and getaways to exotic climes and exclusive London hotels. The entries include:

January 22, 1999: Management meeting - did not go well, felt under too much pressure. Put $40,000 @£24,316.11 into bank.

February 10, 1999: Birmingham Show (car show). Supposedly I went to meet with Blagdon. Really good show.

February 16, 1999: Met with Auditor - went through last year’s payments, including advances. This is getting more difficult, will have to stop this and stand on my own two feet. Need to invoice for 99 advance payments, in case I’m asked.

March 5 1999: Lunch with Joan [his wife] @ Queen Street, Charged to company.