Solicitor jailed in college cash scam

JAILED . . . Andrew Wormstone

A SOLICITOR who helped to cheat Oldham Sixth Form College out of £730,000 has been sent to jail for two-and-a-half years.

Andrew Wormstone’s Leeds firm received the money from the college, intended for a building company carrying out work on the grounds.

Two days after the transfer to Leeds, the money was transferred to the account of a Mr Marshall and used to buy gold. Prosecutors claimed during the trial that Marshall may not exist.

Wormstone (43), of Pontefract was arrested in November 2010 with four others. All were sentenced on Friday at Nottingham Crown Court for their parts in the scam, which saw them target other educational establishments to launder over £2million.

Wormstone told police he was paid fees of £2,634 on behalf of a client who wanted to invest in gold, and had not suspected anything was wrong.

Oldham Sixth Form College lost no money.