Husband and wife fraudsters jailed for £400,000 con

A husband and wife duo have been sentenced to a combined total of 10 years nine months in prison.

Claire Reeder, 40, and Dimitiri Reeder, 52, of Kingsway, Cottingham appeared at Hull Crown Court on Wednesday 24 November for sentencing after a jury found them both guilty of fraud.

Dimitri Reeder received a sentence of six years and Claire Reeder was sentenced to four years nine months.

The court heard how the duo deceptively abused their position of trust to defraud two care sector organisations.

Operating as two companies over the course of a four-year period the couple stole an estimated minimum of £400,000 from their victims. The duo repeatedly submitted invoices fraudulently claiming hours supposedly worked by staff.

The pair pleaded not guilty.

Detective inspector Ben Robinson said: “Following a lengthy and complex investigation this week’s sentencing is welcomed. The only place Clare and Dimitri deserve to be is jail.

“They abused their position of trust; these monies should have been used as intended – to benefit and care for some of the most vulnerable and needing members of our community in a time of austerity.

“Fraud is never a victimless crime and can be extremely distressing and upsetting time for those involved, especially when the level of offending is as vast as this.

“I think it is important to highlight that anyone can be a victim of fraud. Fraudsters continue to reinvent themselves to find new ways of tricking people and companies.”