Three of the seven men received jail time while four walked free
Three men have been jailed and four others walked free over their roles in a gang which sold stolen machinery worth more than £1m.
The investigation was launched after a victim, who had a digger stolen from him, noticed that an identical vehicle was being sold from the unit in Nelson. Officers attended the unit and although the digger had been moved on, they found Max Wynn and Alex Grice in the act of cloning another stolen machine. The stolen digger was later tracked down with another two stolen vehicles in the Clayton le Moors area.
Preston Crown Court heard that Max Wynn, 34, was the “driving force” behind the operation. He was the director of the company that bought and sold on the stolen machines and his name was on the lease of the industrial unit in Nelson where the work was carried out to get rid of any identification numbers on the stolen machines. He is believed to be connected to the handling and sale of all 46 machines.
Richard Wynn, the 47-year-old brother of Max Wynn, was frequently hands-on with the operation, transporting and delivering machines to customers. He sometimes dealt with prospective purchasers and helped facilitate the money laundering part of the operation. In November he pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods but was found guilty at trial on December 13th 2022. Wynn, of Ravenoak Lane in Burnley, was jailed for eight and a half years.
Ian Mellor, the father of Gavin Mellor, also laundered money from stolen machines with the express purpose of giving large amounts of cash back to Max Wynn. It is clear that Ian was aware of the purpose of the operation from the outset, given that his online banking payment references contained the identity of stolen machines.
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