Complaint Review: Paul Woonton

(Feb 2008) Paul Woonton was arrested and charged with only a few of his crimes that he comitted in the UK before he went on his global crime spree.

We can only hope that one day he will be big enough to come and face his crimes in New Zealand and Australia.

Woonton if you are reading this come on back to New Zealand and face up to all of us you ripped off.

Below is the newpaper report of his court case

http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145365&command=displayContent&sourceNode=145191&contentPK=19600066&folderPk=83726&pNodeId=144922

SON STOLE DAD'S ID FOR CAR LOAN
Date : 19.01.08

A man who craved an expensive sports car lumbered his father with a 20,000 loan and swindled 5,000 from dodgy deals on eBay, a court heard.

Paul Woonton then fled to Australia rather than face the music when his scheme unravelled.

The 26-year-old has the same name as his father, who owns Runway Engineering in Yate, Bristol Crown Court was told yesterday.

When Woonton junior could not get the money for his dream Subaru from his dad, he took out the loan using his real name but his father's personal details - dumping his father in it when he couldn't pay it back by fleeing the country.

Woonton, of The Keep, Weston-super-Mare, pleaded guilty to obtaining a money transfer by deception and asked for the eBay offences to be considered.

Imposing a 12-month community punishment and rehabilitation order involving 180 hours unpaid work, Judge Michael Roach told him: "What you did was grossly dishonest. You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself."

Jason Taylor, prosecuting, told the court Mr Woonton senior had run his engineering business for 27 years and was on the brink of completing a multi-million pound international deal when he received a letter from a bank saying that he owed 17,443 - the balance of a 20,000 loan.

The court heard that, mystified, he asked for enquiries to be made and it was revealed his son had used the name they shared to raise the loan but had given his father's business address and details of his father's salary.

Mr Taylor said: "This was all done without the knowledge of Mr Woonton senior. He remembered his son said that he wanted to buy an expensive Subaru car. His son had wanted him to lend the money but that did not happen."

The court heard Mr Woonton senior was then aware his son had bought a second-hand car before going to Australia. Mr Taylor said: "He heard no more from him apart from sending money to him."

When police were notified of Woonton's return to the UK, they found him at an address in Weston-super-Mare in December last year, the court was told.

In interview he said he had hoped to repay the loan but had been unable to do so. He added that without his father's details he would not have got the loan in the first place.

Mr Taylor added Woonton had sold goods to the tune of 5,000 on the internet auction site eBay but he had not forwarded the items.

Tabitha MacFarlane, defending, told the court "He has been a very stupid young man.

"He took extra measures to put his head in the sand by travelling overseas, but he is now back to face the music."

Miss MacFarlane said her client was a very intelligent and well-educated young man who had found the ordeal of nothing to do but watch TV for 23 hours a day while remanded in custody "unbearable".

She said: "He is finding the experience tortuous. But for these offences he may well have been a colleague of any professional person."

Have reason to believe he has now left Austrialia and is now back in the UK. Even more people have come forward to report cases of faud and thief from PAUL WOONTON

Any information on his where abouts email

He's missing in action. Does not live in New Zealand now, on the run. Maybe back in the UK