HMRC discovered Carl Bulmer, of Trent View, Keadby, had broken money laundering regulations by acting as a middleman in the buying and selling of scrap metal for cash.

Scrap dealers are not legally allowed to pay, or be paid, in cash, and payments should be made by cheque. Bulmer told officers he was approached by two men who asked him to weigh in scrap metal for them as they did not have bank accounts. He said the unnamed associates would arrive at his home with a van of scrap, which was unloaded into his vehicle.

He would then travel to Bradford and get cash payments in a sealed envelope, which he passed to the men. They gave him £100, and an extra £20 for petrol. Bulmer said he had doubted the legitimacy of the arrangement, but went ahead regardless as he ‘needed the cash’.

Investigations revealed Bulmer had travelled from Scunthorpe to a scrap dealer in Bradford on 75 separate occasions over a three year-period from 2013 and weighed in metal worth £368,924.

At Grimsby Crown Court Bulmer admitted the offence and was handed a 12-month prison sentence.

Tim Atkins, assistant director, fraud investigation service, HMRC, said: ‘Bulmer deliberately broke the law to line his own pockets. He thought his role in the scrap metal scam would go unnoticed, but he was wrong. He is now paying the price.’