Latest news with #Sheen
1News
21-05-2025
- 1News
Man who tried to sell gold toilet stolen from English palace spared jail
A man who tried to help a burglar cash in from the theft of a golden toilet valued at £4.74 million (NZ$10.6 million) was spared jail Tuesday after a British judge said he had been taken advantage of by the thieves. Frederick Doe, 37, also known as Frederick Sines, was given a suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court for his role in helping to sell the 18-carat gold fully functioning toilet which was taken in 2019 from Blenheim Palace — the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born. 'Those responsible for this audacious heist, five individuals could be seen on CCTV, were clearly intent on disposing of their ill-gotten gains quickly," Judge Ian Pringle told Doe. "You foolishly agreed to assist." The toilet was part of a satirical art installation, titled America, by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for US$6.2 million at auction in New York. The toilet weighed just over 98kg. The value of the gold at the time was £2.8 million (NZ$6.2 million) and it was insured for £4.8 million (NZ$10.6 million). The piece that poked fun at excessive wealth had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum, in New York, which had offered the work to US President Donald Trump during his first term in office after he had asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting. The theft of the toilet — which has never been recovered and is believed to have been cut up and sold — caused considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year. Of the group who smashed a window to get into the palace before dawn on September 14, 2019, only two have been charged and convicted. James Sheen, 40, previously pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property. Michael Jones, 39, was convicted of burglary at the trial where Doe was convicted. Sheen and Jones will be sentenced June 13. Doe punched his fist in the air as he emerged from court, saying he was a good person who "got caught up in something I should not have". The judge said Sheen approached Doe because he had contacts in London's jewellery district. In a WhatsApp message, Doe told Sheen he could "sell the gold in a second". Doe said he had no idea the gold was looted and wouldn't have sold stolen gold "in a million years". Doe, who was convicted of conspiracy to transfer criminal property, was given a two-year suspended term and ordered to perform 240 hours of unpaid work. "You agreed to assist Mr. Sheen without any hope or expectation of a reward for yourself," the judge said. "You no doubt, for the last five-and-a-half years, regret doing [that] for James Sheen every day since your arrest."
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Michael Sheen
Credit - Mike Marsland—WireImage/Getty Images When funding for the Homeless World Cup soccer tournament in his home country Wales fell through in 2019, Michael Sheen decided to sell two of his houses to help cover the shortfall. Realizing the impact his earnings could have, he declared himself a 'not-for-profit actor' in 2021. Sheen uses the money he makes from acting to fund social projects, focusing in particular on helping the people of Wales. In March, he revealed the results of a two-year project that involved creating a debt acquisition company with $133,000 of his own money to buy up borrowers' discounted loans and writing off around $1.3 million worth of debt for some 900 people across south Wales. Sheen previously also pledged $66,000 over five years to fund a bursary to help Welsh students attend the University of Oxford. Write to Ayesha Javed at
19-05-2025
Man who tried to sell $6.4M gold toilet stolen from English country house spared jail
LONDON -- A man who tried to help a burglar cash in from the theft of a golden toilet worth 4.74 million pounds ($6.4 million) was spared jail on Monday after a British judge said he had been taken advantage of by the thieves. Frederick Doe, 37, also known as Frederick Sines, was given a suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court for his role in helping to sell the 18-carat gold fully functioning toilet which was taken in 2019 from Blenheim Palace — the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born. 'Those responsible for this audacious heist, five individuals could be seen on CCTV, were clearly intent on disposing of their ill-gotten gains quickly," Judge Ian Pringle told Doe. 'You foolishly agreed to assist.' The toilet was part of a satirical art installation, titled 'America,' by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, which aimed to poke fun at excessive wealth. It weighed just over 215 pounds (98 kilograms). The value of the gold at the time was 2.8 million pounds and it was insured for nearly 5 million pounds. The piece had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum, in New York,, which had offered the work to U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term in office after he had asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting. The theft of the toilet — which has never been recovered and is believed to have been cut up and sold — caused considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year. Of the group who smashed a window to get into the palace before dawn on Sept. 14, 2019, only two have been charged and convicted. James Sheen, 40, previously pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property. Michael Jones, 39, was convicted of burglary at the trial where Doe was convicted. Sheen and Jones will be sentenced June 13. Doe punched his fist in the air as he emerged from court, saying he was a good person who 'got caught up in something I should not have.' The judge said Sheen approached Doe because he had contacts in London's jewelry district. In a WhatsApp message, Doe told Sheen he could 'sell the gold in a second." Doe said he had no idea the gold was looted and wouldn't have sold stolen gold 'in a million years.' Doe, who was convicted of conspiracy to transfer criminal property, was given a two-year suspended term and ordered to perform 240 hours of unpaid work. 'You agreed to assist Mr. Sheen without any hope or expectation of a reward for yourself," the judge said. 'You no doubt, for the last five-and-a-half years, regret doing (that) for James Sheen every day since your arrest.'
San Francisco Chronicle
19-05-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Man who tried to sell $6.4m gold toilet stolen from English country house is spared jail
LONDON (AP) — A man who tried to help a burglar cash in from the theft of a golden toilet valued at 4.74 million pounds ($6.4 million) was spared jail on Monday after a British judge said he had been taken advantage of by the thieves. Frederick Doe, 37, also known as Frederick Sines, was given a suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court for his role in helping to sell the 18-carat gold fully functioning toilet which was taken in 2019 from Blenheim Palace — the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born. 'Those responsible for this audacious heist, five individuals could be seen on CCTV, were clearly intent on disposing of their ill-gotten gains quickly," Judge Ian Pringle told Doe. 'You foolishly agreed to assist.' The toilet was part of a satirical art installation, titled 'America,' by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for $6.2 million at auction in New York. The toilet weighed just over 215 pounds (98 kilograms). The value of the gold at the time was 2.8 million pounds and it was insured for 4.74 million pounds. The piece that poked fun at excessive wealth had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum, in New York, which had offered the work to U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term in office after he had asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting. The theft of the toilet — which has never been recovered and is believed to have been cut up and sold — caused considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year. Of the group who smashed a window to get into the palace before dawn on Sept. 14, 2019, only two have been charged and convicted. James Sheen, 40, previously pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property. Michael Jones, 39, was convicted of burglary at the trial where Doe was convicted. Sheen and Jones will be sentenced June 13. Doe punched his fist in the air as he emerged from court, saying he was a good person who 'got caught up in something I should not have.' The judge said Sheen approached Doe because he had contacts in London's jewelry district. In a WhatsApp message, Doe told Sheen he could 'sell the gold in a second." Doe said he had no idea the gold was looted and wouldn't have sold stolen gold 'in a million years.' Doe, who was convicted of conspiracy to transfer criminal property, was given a two-year suspended term and ordered to perform 240 hours of unpaid work. 'You agreed to assist Mr. Sheen without any hope or expectation of a reward for yourself," the judge said. 'You no doubt, for the last five-and-a-half years, regret doing (that) for James Sheen every day since your arrest.'
Metro
19-05-2025
- Metro
Frederick Doe walks free over £4,750,000 gold toilet theft plot from Blenheim Palace
A man has been handed a suspended sentence for his part in the theft of a £4.75 million 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace. Frederick Doe, 36, was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to do 240 hours unpaid work. Doe, from Ascot, Berkshire, who is the son of a multimillion caravan magnate, was previously found guilty of conspiracy to transfer criminal property. CCTV from the early hours of September 14, 2019, showed three men smashing their way through a window with crowbars and sledgehammers, to then emerge with the golden toilet. Speaking outside court, Doe said: '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.' His friends joined him outside court and they shouted 'he is a good person' and that he would be off to have a drink to celebrate. Judge Ian Pringle KC said Doe was of previous good character and that the other men may have taken advantage of his good nature. 'You had a limited function, you had no personal gain, you had no wider involvement and you were involved for a short period,' he told Doe. He rejected the prosecution's suggestion that Doe was one of the main players and added: 'You had a limited function, you had no personal gain, you had no wider involvement and you were involved for a short period.' The value of the gold Doe tried to sell on was worth between £250,000 and £260,000, according to the judge. The judge said he was 'targeted' for his legitimate contacts in the Hatton Garden jewellery district. Doe, formerly known as Fred Sines, is the son of Maurice 'Fred' Sines – who has been accused by Irish authorities of being an ally of the notorious Kinahan organised crime gang. Michael Jones, 39, was previously found guilty of planning the robbery at the Oxfordshire house. The day before the theft on September 14, 2019, Jones also revealed he 'took advantage of' the gold toilet's 'facilities' while at the country house. Asked what it was like, Jones said: 'Splendid.' Doe helped one of the men who pleaded guilty to carrying out the burglary, James Sheen, to sell some of the gold in the following weeks. Sheen, 40, from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, had already pleaded guilty to stealing the toilet. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transfer criminal property and one count of transferring criminal property. Jones and Sheen will be sentenced on June 13. Jones visited the palace twice before the theft but had denied these were reconnaissance trips. Doe got involved when he heard Sheen had stolen the toilet and offered to use his contacts to sell the stolen gold. Doe contacted Bora Guccuk, 41, who ran a jewellery shop called Pacha of London to sell off Sheen's share of the gold. Guccuk has previously been cleared. The court heard that Sheen bragged to Doe about making £520,000 from selling his share of the gold to an unidentified jeweller in Birmingham. Three other men involved in the burglary have never been found by police and the fate of the gold is still a mystery. Crispin Aylett KC, defending Doe, said: '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.' The gold toilet was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and was a star attraction in an art exhibition when it was stolen. Blenheim Palace is famous for being the birthplace of former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill. news page.
