Crooked Barrow cop conned £10,000 from friend

Former Barrow-based CID officer Detective Constable Joel Williams, 33, told Dean Leith he needed the money to complete a deal on a solar panel contract, saying: “If you can’t trust a copper, who can you trust?”

It later emerged the deal had not been completed and Williams had taken the holiday to the US, followed by a rugby tour, while his friend’s finances lay in tatters.

Throughout 2013 and 2014 the Roose Pioneers player conned more than £25,000 out of friends and family as his debts spiralled out of control.

Yesterday he was jailed for 21 months at Preston Crown Court.

The ex-officer has since been sacked from Cumbria’s force.

The hearing was also told that he defrauded his ex-wife and his own mother to secure bank loans he was not eligible for.

Now the disgraced officer, who made a career out of investigating others’ financial wrongdoings, is behind bars after pleading guilty to four counts of fraud and one of possession of a false identity document.

During a search of his home, a passport in the name of Russell Henderson, which had been reported missing at Barrow Police Station several years earlier, was found. Williams, who worked for the financial intelligence unit for Cumbria Constabulary, had used the passport to apply for a loan, the court heard.

Matters came to light when Williams’s ex-wife checked her credit rating on Experian and discovered a loan which she hadn’t taken out had been defaulted on.

Williams had used her details to borrow £5,000 from Tesco Finance and had paid it onto a pre-payment card with Tuxedo Loans, which he then used to make purchases.

Other e-ccounts had been set up with Tuxedo using the details of his mother-in-law and his brother – although those accounts had never been used. However Williams had borrowed £10,000 from Santander using his mother Karen’s details.

In a victim personal statement read to the court, his ex-wife Louise said: “It has affected my credit rating and my future. I feel totally betrayed by him.”

Louise was approached by Mr Leith who told her Williams had said she would help repay the loan he had made to his friend.

Williams, of Farnham Close, Barrow, had agreed to repay £12,000 within two months after borrowing the money from the builder. But when the money did not emerge and Williams jetted off to Las Vegas, Mr Leith was left struggling to pay his creditors in the building trade.

On his return to the UK a cheque was posted through Mr Leith’s door, but it bounced.

Judge Mark Brown, sentencing, said: “At the relevant time you were a serving police officer.

“You had undergone training in financial intelligence and you worked on investigations of fraud and money laundering.

“It is this aspect and the fact you were a serving police officer that makes this case so serious. You were expected to set an example of probity, honesty and integrity.”

After the sentencing, Deputy Chief Constable Michelle Skeer said: “We are committed to serving and protecting the public and it is vital that our communities have trust and confidence in Cumbria Constabulary.

“We expect the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and conduct from all police officers and staff at all times. We take any allegations of dishonesty very seriously and our Professional Standards Department will investigate any complaint thoroughly and impartially, and take action where appropriate.

“Anyone with any concerns about a police employee should contact Cumbria police on 101 and ask the speak to the Professional Standards Department.”