Latest news with #TheWeeTeaPlantation
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Probe leads to conviction of Scottish tea fraudster
The investigation by FSS uncovered that Robinson's misrepresentations led to financial losses totalling £584,738 for his clients. Robinson, also known as Tam O'Braan and Thomas O'Brien, was found guilty by jury at Falkirk Sherriff Court following an extensive investigation by FSS. He will be sentenced at a later date. Between January 2014 and February 2019, Robinson operated under the business name "The Wee Tea Plantation", asserting that he cultivated Camellia Sinensis tea plants at his Perthshire estate. He marketed this tea as authentically Scottish-grown and sold to high-profile clients in the hospitality sector, but in reality, the tea was sourced from wholesalers outside Scotland. Robinson further bolstered his fraudulent claims by alleging he had developed innovative techniques for cultivating tea in Scotland's climate. He also fabricated academic qualifications and industry awards to lend credibility to his story. Ron McNaughton, Head of the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (SFCIU) at FSS, commented: "This was a highly complex and protracted investigation which required a significant amount of time, expertise and coordination across our team and with partner agencies. Fraud of this nature is often difficult to detect and even harder to prove, but we were determined to pursue every line of enquiry to build the strongest possible case. 'This was not a victimless crime — individuals, businesses, and an emerging sector of genuine Scottish tea growers suffered real financial and reputational harm as a result of deliberate deception. I would like to thank the witnesses who came forward and supported the investigation; their cooperation was essential to achieving this outcome. 'It's a strong example of how partnership working and the dedication and skill of our investigative teams make it increasingly difficult for those committing food fraud to go undetected. We remain committed to protecting Scotland's food and drink sector from criminal activity and maintaining consumer trust."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Fraudster conned luxury hotels and retailers out of £580k by selling fake Scottish tea
A man has been found guilty of fraud totalling almost £600,000 after he passed off ordinary tea as a premium product grown in Scotland. Thomas Robinson, 52, claimed the tea was a unique variety he had grown at his Perthshire estate using innovative techniques. Operating as The Wee Tea Plantation, he then fraudulently sold it to high-profile clients in the hospitality sector, including luxury hotels and retailers, between January 2014 and February 2019. Varieties listed on the website - which touted partnerships with train operator Caledonian Sleeper and the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh - include Dalreoch White, Silver Needles, Scottish Antlers Tea, and Highland Green. Also known as Tam O'Braan and Thomas O'Brien, Robinson was found to have misled genuine Scottish tea growers by selling them plants he falsely claimed were a unique, locally-grown variety. He also bolstered his credibility by fabricating academic qualifications and industry awards. An investigation by Food Standards Scotland (FSS) found Robinson's misrepresentations led to his clients losing a total of £584,783. He was found guilty of two counts of fraud by a jury at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Thursday, and is due to be sentenced at Stirling Sheriff Court on 25 June. Read more from Scotland: In a statement, Ron McNaughton, head of Scottish food crime and incidents unit at FSS, said: "This was not a victimless crime - individuals, businesses, and an emerging sector of genuine Scottish tea growers suffered real financial and reputational harm as a result of deliberate deception." He then thanked a witness who came forward and added: "Fraud of this nature is often difficult to detect and even harder to prove, but we were determined to pursue every line of inquiry to build the strongest possible case."
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Conman dubbed Tetley Tam caged for £550,000 scam buying cheap foreign tea and selling as 'Scottish'
The fraudster flogged 22,000 plants to growers for £12.50 each TEA LEAF Conman dubbed Tetley Tam caged for £550,000 scam buying cheap foreign tea and selling as 'Scottish' A CONMAN dubbed Tetley Tam was today caged for a £550,000 scam — buying cheap foreign tea then selling it at premium prices as 'Scottish'. Thomas Robinson, 55, told customers his cuppa-brewing leaves had been grown in fields north of the border. But he was actually importing them for a fraction of the cost he charged the likes of Edinburgh's prestigious Balmoral Hotel. An expert told Falkirk Sheriff Court tea from Africa could fetch 100 times as much if sold as 'Scots-grown'. Trading as The Wee Tea Plantation, the fraudster flogged 22,000 plants to growers for £12.50 each. He either passed them off as Scottish or allowed customers to assume they were. But they had been acquired from Italy for less than £3 each. Robinson bought more than a tonne of tea from overseas and repackaged it with names like Dalreoch White, Scottish Antlers Tea and Highland Green. The Balmoral Hotel was duped into boasting: 'Our Scottish-grown teas come from gardens in our farming heartlands in Perthshire and Dumfries and Galloway.' The fantasist alleged one brand was 'the Queen's favourite'. Robinson also claimed to be a scientist who'd invented the 'Bag For Life', a bomb disposal expert, and that he'd worked for ex-US President Barack Obama. Prosecutor Joanne Ritchie said he'd formed 'a scheme to make money on the basis of lies'. Man Awarded $50m From Starbucks After Hot Drink Causes Third-Degree Burns Jurors convicted Robinson, of Amulree, Perthshire, of defrauding tea growers of £274,354 and hotels and tea companies of £278,634 between 2014 and 2019. Sheriff Keith O'Mahony remanded Robinson in custody, warning him: 'There will be significant sentencing consequences for you.'
South Wales Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Man who sold ordinary tea as unique Scottish variety found guilty of fraud
Thomas Robinson, 52, claimed to have cultivated the tea at his Perthshire estate using innovative techniques, but in reality it was sourced from wholesalers outside Scotland. Operating under the business name The Wee Tea Plantation, Robinson fraudulently sold the tea to high-profile clients in the hospitality sector between January 2014 and February 2019. In addition, Robinson, who is also known as Tam O'Braan and Thomas O'Brien, misled genuine Scottish tea growers by selling them plants under the false pretence they were a unique, locally-grown variety. Thomas Robinson was found guilty of fraud totalling nearly £600,000 following an investigation by the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit. He defrauded luxury hotels and retailers by falsely claiming to supply premium tea grown in Scotland. Read more at — Food Standards Scotland (@FSScot) May 29, 2025 He also bolstered his credibility by fabricating academic qualifications and industry awards. An investigation by Food Standards Scotland (FSS) found Robinson's misrepresentations led to his clients losing a total of £584,783. Robinson was found guilty of two counts of fraud by a jury at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Thursday. Ron McNaughton, head of Scottish food crime and incidents unit at FSS, welcomed the verdict. 'This was not a victimless crime – individuals, businesses, and an emerging sector of genuine Scottish tea growers suffered real financial and reputational harm as a result of deliberate deception. 'I would like to thank the witnesses who came forward and supported the investigation – their co-operation was essential to achieving this outcome. 'It's a strong example of how partnership working and the dedication and skill of our investigative teams make it increasingly difficult for those committing food fraud to go undetected. 'We remain committed to protecting Scotland's food and drink sector from criminal activity and maintaining consumer trust.' He added that the FSS investigation had been 'highly complex and protracted', requiring co-ordination with 'partner agencies'. He continued: 'Fraud of this nature is often difficult to detect and even harder to prove, but we were determined to pursue every line of inquiry to build the strongest possible case.' Robinson is due to be sentenced at Stirling Sheriff Court on June 25.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Fraudster made £550,000 selling fake 'Scottish-grown tea'
A fraudster who tricked luxury hotels and stores into buying "Scottish-grown tea" that was grown abroad has been found guilty of a £550,000 Robinson supplied high-end customers such as Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel and the Dorchester in London with varieties with names like Dalreoch White, Highland Green, Silver Needles and Scottish Antlers as The Wee Tea Plantation, he claimed they had been grown on farmland in the tea had been imported, repackaged and then resold at hugely-inflated prices, Falkirk Sheriff Court was told. Robinson also defrauded genuine aspiring Scottish tea growers by selling them plants he claimed were grown in Scotland. The 55-year-old, who is also known as Thomas O'Brien or Tam O' Braan, rented a former sheep farm near Loch Tay and began spinning "elaborate lies" to customers. Prosecutors said he created the "CV of a fantasist" - claiming among other things that he was a multi-millionaire, a polymer scientist, a former bomb disposal expert and had invented the "bag for life". He also claimed to have developed a "special biodegradable polymer" that would make the tea plants grow in half the usual time. The court was told it looked like a black bin liner. Robinson's false claim that "our Scottish grown teas come from gardens in our farming heartland in Perthshire and Dumfries and Galloway" was reprinted on the Balmoral Hotel's Palm Court luxury tea menu. He boasted that tea he had supplied to London's Dorchester Hotel was "the Queen's favourite". The media was also taken in with numerous stories appearing, including on the BBC News website and in a BBC podcast. The court heard that in reality Robinson had bought over a tonne of tea grown abroad and had it delivered to mailbox address in Glasgow, using a different company name to cover his expert said a kilo of top tea from Africa could be sold for 100 times its cost if passed off as Scottish. Robinson claimed his tea plants had been grown from cuttings and seeds at Dalreoch Farm, at Amulree in Perthshire. When a buyer from the prestigious food store Fortnum and Mason's wanted to visit he hurriedly bought in plants from a nursery in Sussex and put them on 2015 and 2016 he conned a dozen genuine tea growers in Scotland and one from Jersey by supplying them with 22,000 plants at £12.50 each. The court heard he had actually imported them from a horticulturist in Italy at three Euros each. Many of these plants died or failed the thrive. One grower from Dumfries and Galloway was told he could expect to harvest his first tea after year and enjoy a yield of 100kg of top tea as well as £450kg of secondary leaf for blends. After battling for seven years, the grower was only able to harvest 100g of finished tea. Food standards probe The scam began to unravel in 2017 after Perth and Kinross Council started to check if he had a food processing licence. Eventually the food crime unit at Food Standards Scotland was called in and an investigation launched, headed up by a retired police denied the charges and claimed paperwork that would have proved his innocence had been destroyed in a flood. He said he was proud of his work and told the jurors: "I wanted to leave something that would stand in the history of tea."After a three-week trial jurors took six hours to find him guilty of defrauding tea growers, hotels and tea companies of nearly £553,000 in total. He will be sentenced at a later date, and also faces proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
