A CONMAN has been jailed for more than two years after being found guilty of duping Waverley Borough Council out of £233,000 taxpayers’ cash.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Matthew Lowe, 30, fooled council staff with a fake letter pretending to be from Waverley’s repairs contractor Mears.

The letter said money owed to Mears should be paid into a different bank account and three large invoices were paid into the conman’s fraudulent account which he set up using a false identity.

Lowe got away with the scam for four months, between January 1 and April 25, 2014, before the council’s bank grew suspicious and launched an investigation, alerting WBC?and police.

Lowe, who was living in a rented flat in Birmingham at the time, was unveiled as the owner of the fraudulent account a court heard last week.

Simon Rippon, prosecuting, said investigators have recovered more than half of the plundered money but £94,703 is still missing.

The barrister added the conman had targeted the BBC with the same trick, but staff at the state broadcaster checked with their contractor and avoided becoming a victim of the scam.

Lowe is already serving a prison sentence after earlier frauds in London and Bournemouth in 2014. He also stole an ex-girlfriend’s bank card and used it three times to withdraw a further £450, Mr Rippon added.

Amrisha Parathalingam, defending, said Lowe’s offending started after he lost a job in telesales and continued throughout 2014.

Referring to his current jail term, she added: “He has had time to reflect on that behaviour.”

Lowe pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud and theft and was sentenced to two years and three months by Judge Peter Barrie, to be served behind bars after his current sentence ends in June.

He also faces a proceeds of crime hearing to recover taxpayers’ cash.

Lowe’s conviction prompted further criticism of Waverley Borough Council’s handling of the fraud as well as calls for an independent investigation into councillors’ conduct.

The council was made aware of the scam in late-summer 2014 – and in total 19 councillors, all members of the ruling Conservative majority, were notified.

But junior Tory councillors and opposition members were never informed and the full extent of the fraud was not made public until October 2015, after a council whistleblower spoke out.

The revelation prompted an accusation by the leader of Waverley’s then-UKIP opposition, Diane James, that council chiefs sought to “cover-up” the fraud in order to protect the its reputation for financial management competence ahead of last year’s election.

Speaking to The Herald this week, the former Waverley employee who brought the fraud to the newspaper’s attention said: “I am pleased someone has been found guilty of the fraud, but remain deeply disappointed in how Waverley have conducted themselves throughout the investigation, particularly the lack of support given to the staff involved, who were devastated that this had happened. Waverley have simply looked to hide the truth and apportion blame, they should be setting an example particularly when public funds are involved.

“This case has cost hundreds of hours of staff time and over £90,000 has yet to be recovered. Has Waverley learned from this, has any member of senior management been sanctioned? I doubt it”

UKIP’s South West Surrey branch has also demanded a “full, independent and transparent investigation” into the Conservatives’ conduct in relation to the fraud.

In a letter to The Herald, Rosaleen Egan, a member of the SWS UKIP group, said: “This matter cannot be allowed to be glossed over.”

Defending the council’s actions, Waverley’s executive director Paul Wenham welcomed Lowe’s sentence.

He said: “Waverley is delighted West Midlands Police pursued this case, which ended with the CPS leading it right through to the prosecution.

“The majority [of the £94,703 still missing] has now been reclaimed. The outstanding balance has been met by the insurer with Waverley paying the excess of £25,000. However the council is still seeking to get this money back.

“Within hours of the council becoming aware of the incident an investigation was immediately conducted which resulted in the recovery of a significant proportion of the funds.

“The council also strengthened its processes and procedures to ensure this does not happen again and took appropriate action involving the staff affected.”