20th July 2017
Walthamstow conman Christopher Theile told bosses he had terminal cancer- then used sick leave to scam his company out of £1 million
Tom Barnes – Reporter covering Waltham Forest.
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Theile is facing jail time over the elaborate scam
A TECH firm employee who lied about having terminal cancer before using his sick leave to run a £1million scam is facing jail.
Christopher Theile, of Maria’s Gardens, Walthamstow, told USB manufacturers Flashbay Ltd he had pancreatic cancer and needed time off work for treatment in January 2013.
While he was off work, Theile fabricated a story about meeting a wealthy businessmen who wanted thousands of bespoke USB drives that would make Flashbay a profit of at a profit of up to £300,000.
Flashbay took the bait and manufactured £1.2m worth of USB sticks – but the order did not exist.
The 40-year-old lied to his bosses that he was being treated in Switzerland, and by chance, had met a multi-millionaire called Anthony Nightingale at the Lindberg at the clinic.
But it was all a scam and Theile was orchestrating the ploy from an internet cafe in Walthamstow.
He also sent Flashbay medical documents from a doctor who did not exist.
Nightingale was said to work for a company called Jardines, who wanted the large order for German multinational company, Siemens.
In response, Flashbay manufactured a total of 750,000 USB drives between 2013 and 2014.
Theile, originally from Germany, also asked for a £24,000 commission from the deal, which Flashbay paid in October 2013.
He also created a fake company representative at Jardines to keep the fraud going and insisted Flashbay only deal with her.
Under the alias of Byran Hawkes, Theile made up a series of excuses as to why Flashbay had not been paid, while continuing to make requests for cash advances for his “cancer treatment” and one colleague gave him £6,000 of his own money out of sympathy.
Theile told his bosses he was having dialysis every three days and required lifelong medication.
At one point he said he only had six months to live, and that the bonus from the sale should go to his wife.
After a year off receiving sick pay, he said he had suffered a stroke to prolong his leave, in January 2014.
The plot came crashing down after bosses at Flashbay became suspicious of “Byran Hawkes”, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
They noticed some emails were poorly worded, with German grammar, prompting managing director Stephen Webster to examine Jardines’ website.
He sent a link to Byran Hawkes that when opened revealed the elusive figure’s IP address to be in London, not Florida as “Hawkes” had claimed.
Webster hired private investigators to track Theile’s whereabouts, suspecting he might be involved.
They observed him walking to the cafe and writing emails under the name of Byran Hawkes and made a citizen’s arrest on September 17, 2014.
He then attemped one last scam by fabricating a document sent to the Crown Prosecution Service, suggesting his investigating police officer, Nanu Miah, had been convicted of perverting the course of justice.
During their investigation into Theile, the CPS received an official looking bundle called “Corruption Report” from what appeared to be Swiss authorities.
It contained a list of several police officers with made up criminal offences, yet Theile’s fingerprints were found on the documents.
Adrian Amer, prosecuting, said: “Theile claimed to his employers Flashbay that he needed urgent medical treatment and that he had been “caught early” with pancreatic cancer.
“A meeting was then held where it was agreed that six months sick pay would be paid to Theile at the full salary rate.
“This was after the defendant had produced a medical certificate from the Swiss Clinic which was later discovered to be false.
“Theile provided regular updates as to his progress and condition. These were false.
“He has not been treated in the Lindberg clinic at any time nor has he ever received treatment at his local hospital, Whipps Cross, for cancer.”
Theile denied but was convicted of three counts of fraud and one count of perverting the course of justice on Monday (July 17).
He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on July 28.