Charity fraudster steals £560,000 – and buys a Renault Espace

An eccentric accountant embezzled over half a million pounds to fund his car buying fantasies – but instead of buying a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, he spent it on a Renault Espace.

Brendan Joyce worked for the Bristol charity Above and Beyond for 17 years before the extent of his £562,030 fraudulent scam – played out over five and a half years – came to light.

In that time, he had bought 105 cars with the misappropriated cash.

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But instead of lavishing himself with exotic and rare supercars, the 57-year old bought family cars – including Renault Espace MPVs and Vauxhall Carlton saloons, as well as more collectable vehicles such as a Triumph Stags, Jaguar XJs and two funeral limousines.

Joyce stored his vehicles in 80 lock-up garages in the Bristol area, costing around £4,200 a month to rent.

Bristol Crown Court heard that he bought the cars online, with the saga going on “for an appreciable length of time.”

Judge Michael Roach said, “You took considerable efforts to ensure what you were doing was covered up, by the paperwork you were responsible for. As a result, the charity has lost over half a million pounds.”

Joyce pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud and asked for 152 similar offences to be considered, before being jailed for three years.

If YOU had a (fully legal and above board) budget of a cool half a million, head over to our Facebook Page and tell us below what cars you’d buy to create your dream garage…