Latest news with #FredDoe
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Multimillionaire's son avoiding prison for his involvement in sale of stolen £4.8 million Golden Toilet is 'laughable', art theft expert Christopher A. Marinello tells new Mail podcast
It is 'laughable' that Fred Doe, the son of a multimillionaire caravan magnate, avoided a jail sentence for his involvement in the sale of a £4.8 million golden toilet stolen from Blenheim Palace, an art theft expert told the Mail's 'The Trial' podcast. Fred Doe, 37, was convicted following a trial in March of attempting to broker the sale of around 10 kilos of the stolen gold on behalf of burglar and family friend James Sheen, 40. Judge Ian Pringle KC sentenced Doe to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years, after accepting that he had strong personal mitigation due to his wife's poor health and the wellbeing of his children. Lawyer Christopher A. Marinello, one of the world's foremost experts in recovering stolen, looted, and missing works of art, said the awarding of a suspended sentence shows ' crime does pay in the UK.' 'It's laughable', Mr Marniello told crime reporters, Jack Hardy and Caroline Cheetham. 'It's not a deterrent. The bottom line is that this was a laughably light sentence. It shows that the judges, and the prosecutors, are disconnected from victims worldwide. 'The sentencing says we do not treat burglaries and art crimes as seriously as other crimes. That we do not realise the scars the victims get when they are robbed, when everything they have worked for is taken away from them. 'That says to criminals – come to London, crime does pay in the UK.' Doe became involved in the conspiracy when he heard Sheen - whom he knew through the traveller community - had snatched the toilet and offered to use his extensive contacts in Hatton Garden to sell the stolen gold. Crispin Aylett KC, defending Doe, told the court that he was a 'bit-part player who succeeded only in delaying James Sheen from converting his gold into cash'. Failing to sell the gold in London, Sheen took it Birmingham, later bragging in a text message to Doe hat he had made £520,000 from selling his share of the gold to an unidentified jeweller. Asked to speculate where the stolen gold could be now, Mr Marniello said: 'It could be anywhere'. Subscribe to The Crime Desk to hear exclusive coverage of the Sycamore Gap trial on The Trial+ Join here Despite the creator of the golden toilet, Maurizio Cattelan, finding amusement in his work of art being stolen, the lawyer was keen to stress that the heist was not a victimless crime. 'It's the insurance company that's the victim here', Mr Marniello said. 'And guess what? The insurance company is going to raise its rates – and who's going to pay for that? You and me. 'When they raise their rates – their stocks go down – and their stocks are owned by our pension plans. We are the victims in all of this.' The 18-carat golden toilet was an artwork called 'America' and was plumbed in at Blenheim Palace for visitors to use at an exhibition in September 2019. But in the early hours of September 14 - just two days after the toilet went on display - a gang of five men came screeching into the grounds of Winston Churchill's birthplace in two stolen cars. Extraordinary CCTV captured the unfolding raid as three of the men smashed their way through a window with sledgehammers and crowbars and emerged just minutes later with the golden toilet. No trace has ever been found. Follow the exclusive Trial podcast for the upcoming sentencing of James Sheen and Michael Jones for their involvement in the theft and sale of the Golden Toilet. To hear the Mail's award-winning coverage of the Golden Toliet trial, as the case unfolds, subscribe to The Crime Desk today.
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Millionaire's son who tried to sell stolen $6.4 million gold toilet avoids jail in UK
Fred Doe, the son of a multimillionaire caravan magnate, avoided jail after he tried to sell a £4.8 million ($6.4 million) golden toilet stolen from England's Blenheim Palace. The 37-year-old was convicted of trying to sell 10 kg of the gold on behalf of a burglar who stole the toilet. Doe was given a 21-month suspended sentence after he was found guilty of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property in March. While sentencing Doe, the judge said that he had no personal gain or wide involvement and was only part of the sale for a short period. Doe has, however, been ordered to do 240 hours of unpaid work. The 18-carat toilet named 'America' was created by the artist Maurizio Cattelan and installed at the Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire as part of an exhibition. The unusual artwork was created in 2016 for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. It was set in one of the museum's bathrooms along with other toilets to be used by the visitors. According to the museum, over 100,000 people waited in line to use it and a security guard was posted outside the bathroom. The gold toilet weighed over 103 kilograms, which in September 2019 was valued at more than four million dollars. Five men broke into the palace in September 2019 and ripped out the toilet before fleeing in a stolen car. Doe went on trial with Michael Jones, 39, and Bora Guccuk, 41. James Sheen, 40, another burglar who had enlisted Doe's help to sell the gold, had already pleaded guilty to burglary. A few days after the burglary, Sheen contacted Doe to discuss selling the stolen gold. Using coded language, the pair exchanged messages referring to "cars" and being offered "26 and a half," which, according to the Crown Prosecution Service, was a covert reference to receiving £26,500 per kilo of gold. The judge noted that Doe had been of good character previously and accepted that the conspirators may have taken advantage of his good nature and used him for his contacts in the Hatton Garden jewellery district. "My good nature has been taken advantage of. I got caught up in something I should not have, and now I just want to go home and enjoy my family. I am a good person," he told reporters outside the court.
Times
19-05-2025
- Times
Middleman avoids jail for Blenheim Palace golden toilet theft plot
The 'foolish' middleman in a plot to steal an 18-carat, £4.75 million golden toilet from Blenheim Palace has escaped a prison sentence. A gang ripped the lavatory, which was fully plumbed in as part of an art exhibition, from the wall of the Oxfordshire stately home with sledgehammers and a crowbar during the early morning raid in 2019. Fred Doe, 37, a watch dealer also known as Fred Sines, was contacted by one of the robbers, Jimmy Sheen, 40, and asked to sell some of the gold through his Hatton Garden jewellery quarter connections. Doe was found guilty earlier this year of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property. Doe insisted at his trial in March at Oxford crown court he had no idea the
BBC News
19-05-2025
- BBC News
Businessman who conspired to sell £4.8m golden toilet avoids jail
A businessman, who told a criminal he could sell a stolen £4.8m golden toilet for him "in two split seconds", has been given a 21-month suspended Doe, of Winkfield, Windsor, Berkshire, was found guilty of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property in 18-carat toilet was created by the conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan and had been installed at the Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire as part of an Doe, Judge Ian Pringle said: "You had a limited function, you had no personal gain, you had no wider involvement, and you were involved for a short period." Doe has been sentenced to 21 months imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered him to do 240 hours unpaid September 2019, five men smashed their way into the palace, ripped out the plumbed in toilet and fled in a stolen Jones was convicted of burglary in connection with the crime after a trial at Oxford Crown Court. James Sheen pleaded guilty to burglary in 2024. Just two days after the golden toilet was stolen in an early morning raid, Fred Doe sent a voice message to his friend, the career criminal James 'Jimmy' Sheen. He said: "I do know just the man you need to see... the word's on the street about the car."But Doe was not talking about a vehicle - 'car' was their code word for 'gold'.Four years later, Sheen would plead guilty to stealing the 18 karat solid-gold hundreds of texts, calls and voice messages sent between the two men in the two weeks following the heist would help convict Doe, a well-connected businessman from the traveller community. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Son of multimillionaire caravan magnate who tried to sell £4.8m golden toilet after it was stolen from Blenheim Palace in midnight raid avoids prison
The son of a multimillionaire caravan magnate has avoided jail for trying to sell a share of a £4.8m golden toilet snatched from Blenheim Palace in a dramatic five-minute raid. Fred Doe, 37, was convicted following a trial in March of attempting to broker the sale of around 10 kilos of the stolen gold on behalf of burglar and family friend James Sheen, 40. Formerly known as Fred Sines, Doe is the son of multimillionaire caravan magnate Maurice 'Fred' Sines - who has been accused by Irish authorities of being an ally of the notorious Kinahan organised crime clan. The 18-carat golden toilet was an artwork called 'America' by satirist Maurizio Cattelan and had been plumbed in at Blenheim Palace for visitors to use at an exhibition in September 2019. But in the early hours of September 14 - just two days after the toilet went on display - a gang of five men came screeching into the grounds of Winston Churchill's birthplace in two stolen cars. Extraordinary CCTV captured the unfolding raid as three of the men smashed their way through a window with sledgehammers and crowbars and emerged just minutes later with the golden toilet. No trace has ever been found. Within hours of the heist, married father-of-four Doe, who lives in a mansion near Ascot racecourse, messaged Sheen to say he knew about the stolen gold and could help him. He then approached a jeweller in the Hatton Garden area and arranged for him to value Sheen's gold, but the sale collapsed. The jeweller, Bora Guccuk, was acquitted at trial of laundering the stolen wares. Judge Ian Pringle KC told a sentencing hearing at Oxford Crown Court today that the value of the gold that Doe was trying to sell was likely worth between £250,000 and £260,000. Doe, dressed in a white jumper and grey trousers, sat in the dock with two enormous Sports Direct holdalls at his side. He was supported in court by his father and other family. The judge sentenced Doe to 21 months, suspended for two years, after accepting that he had strong personal mitigation due to his wife's poor health and the wellbeing of his children. His family clapped and yelled 'yes!' as the judge announced the sentence would be suspended. Sheen and fellow burglar Michael Jones, 39, are due to be sentenced over their role in the raid next month. Doe became involved in the conspiracy when he heard Sheen - whom he knew through the traveller community - had snatched the toilet and offered to use his extensive contacts in Hatton Garden to sell the stolen gold. His father previously told the Mail that he believed authorities were only targeting his son as 'pay back' because they had failed to bring him down over his alleged links to the Kinahans. Doe had contacted Guccuk, who ran a jewellery shop called Pacha of London in Hatton Garden, within hours of the burglary and set in motion an attempt to sell Sheen's share of the gold. The middle man gave evidence over several days during the trial and told jurors that he had no idea the gold was stolen - and never would have got involved with the 'idiot' Sheen if he did. Crispin Aylett KC, defending Doe, told the court today that he was 'a bit-part player who succeeded only in delaying James Sheen in converting his gold into cash'. 'The actual extent of Mr Doe's involvement was to introduce Mr Sheen to Bora Guccuck and Bora Guccuk was unable to come up with the money and, as we know, Mr Sheen took his gold to Birmingham and boasted about the money he made,' Mr Aylett said. The barrister suggested that Doe's 'good nature' had been taken advantage of by those involved in the conspiracy. Sheen, who pleaded guilty to burglary in April last year, bragged in a message to Doe that he had made £520,000 from selling his share of the gold to an unidentified jeweller in Birmingham. His message was accompanied by a picture showing a large pile of cash. Questions have mounted for police over their failure to snare the three other members of the burglary gang, despite one man being heavily linked to the burglary throughout the trial. An individual named in court as Carl Davies was said to be the first person to contact Doe about the stolen gold and he later went with Sheen to Birmingham when he sold his share. He also lived in a caravan park where cell site data placed Sheen's phone just minutes after the burglary. 'Carl Davies seems to be in this up to his neck,' Crispin Aylett KC, representing Doe, told the court during his closing speech in March. 'At very least there is evidence of his telephone going to Birmingham. 'Why isn't he in the dock?' Mr Aylett said it was 'a somewhat unsatisfactory state of affairs' that the other burglars had 'filled their boots', while the police were left unable to 'flush them out'. None of the gold bullion merchants who bought the stolen gold have been charged and the ultimate fate of the gold remains a mystery. Doe's father was linked to the Kinahan clan in evidence submitted to Ireland's High Court by its Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB). He was said to be particularly close to senior gang member called Liam Byrne, with whom he has been photographed on a sunshine holiday. Doe Sr was also pictured among the VIP mourners at the funeral of Byrne's brother David, who was shot dead in 2016 by a hitman from the rival gang, at a Dublin boxing match weigh-in. He furiously denied having anything to do with the world of organised crime when he spoke to the Mail in March - claiming he was being persecuted just for being friends with the Kinahans.
