Morley man masterminded counterfeit currency plan worth £380,000
A Morley fraudster who masterminded a counterfeit currency production line has been returned to jail.
Police raided the factory that was being prepared to print the fake Scottish bank notes, set up by known criminal Lee Mitchell.
He was found guilty after a trial at Leeds Crown Court of conspiracy to make counterfeit currency. He was jailed this afternoon, along with a co-defendant, John Sutcliffe.
Prosecutor Michael Smith KC said that acting on intelligence, police forced their way into the industrial unit near Manchester in February 2024 and found the set-up, which was yet to start printing.
However, the court heard there was enough plastic sheeting to produce at least £380,000 in notes, but Mr Smith said with restocked materials it could have produced millions of pounds worth.
Mitchell, 54, was previously jailed for 10-and-a-half years after setting up a similar operations in 2010 in Leeds and North Wales.
Those was capable of producing £20 notes. A significant amount of those notes were already in circulation by the time the police intercepted a haul worth £500,000 being driven from Wales to Guiseley.
For his latest scam, Mitchell, of Blenkinsop Court, Morley, bought the necessary machinery and materials and made concerted efforts to leave no trace.
This included using other people’s eBay accounts, paying in cash under different names and travelling the length of the country to source materials.
The court heard he did not keep a smartphone to reduce his digital footprint further.
He found the unit in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, with no rental agreement.
John Sutcliffe, 42, of Gale Street, Rochdale, was already working at the unit and became drawn into the operation when Mitchell began to gather machinery and materials.
Judge Kate Rayfield told Mitchell: “You plainly held a leading role. You had already started the leg work of obtaining machinery. You were the main organiser.”
Referring to Mitchell’s efforts to cover his tracks, she called it “deliberate to allow him to go undetected”.
She jailed him for seven years and gave him a serious crime prevention order (SCPO) to run for five years. It will start on the day he is released and will restrict his liberty in an effort to deter him from further criminality.
She acknowledged that Sutcliffe played a lesser role and that “trouble came to his door” and was carrying out legitimate work at the site when Mitchell began his operation.
He was jailed for 20 months, but will be released under time already served on remand.
Meanwhile, two other men from Rochdale and Liverpool have been charged and will appear in court at a later date.