Latest news with #WeeTeaPlantation
Scottish Sun
29-06-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Tea scammer dubbed ‘Tetley Tam' given £50k government grant before £500k swindle
The fraudster was jailed last week for the 'Wee Tea Plantation' dupe IN THE BAG IN THE BAG Tea scammer dubbed 'Tetley Tam' given £50k government grant before £500k swindle Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A TEA conman dubbed Tetley Tam fooled a Scottish Government-backed quango into handing him £50,000. Thomas Robinson, 55, swindled the start-up grant to help build his fraudulent plantation. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Thomas Robinson before he was jailed last week Credit: Central Scotland News Agency 3 He sold the tea to luxury hotels Credit: Alamy 3 Robinson's victims between 2014 and 2019 included Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel Credit: Getty We told how he was jailed for 3½ years last week for duping luxury hotels into buying his premium 'Scottish-grown' bought on the cheap from Italy. The fantasist even claimed one brand 'produced' on his Perthshire estate was 'the Queen's favourite'. Now it has emerged Robinson — who brewed up his brazen £550,000 fraud over five years — convinced Scottish Edge to give him a mix of taxpayers and corporate cash to get his dodgy business off the ground. The crook, who claimed in court to have invented the supermarket bag for life and worked for ex-US President Barack Obama's administration, hoodwinked the selection panel with lies. One source said last night: 'He had no shame.' Scottish Edge helps entrepreneurs funded by the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Hunter Foundation. Robinson was awarded the money in 2015 after pitching his The Wee Tea Plantation to judges. The quango's website has an image of him posing and says: 'Winner…The Wee Tea Plantation Limited — £50,000. 'Scotland's only tea plantation which counts Kensington Palace as customers.' Stirling Sheriff Court heard Robinson's victims included Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel. Harry Styles passionately snogs mystery woman in packed Glastonbury VIP area He also flogged 22,000 plants bought for £3 to Scots growers for £12.50 each. Scottish Edge has been asked for comment.
Daily Mail
27-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Scottish hoaxers are in on the great tea swindle – but what about Meghan's and Fergie's brews? JAN MOIR
What is it about tea that brings out the worst in people? Not those who drink it. Those who sell it. In Scotland, the celebrated Wee Tea Plantation Company has turned out to be a massive scam, with cheap tea imported from abroad then passed off as tea lovingly grown in a field in Perthshire, and sold off at 100 times the cost to grand hotels such as Gleneagles, the Balmoral in Edinburgh and the Dorchester in London. Ten years ago there was a launch in New York attended by then First Minister and actor Alan Cumming.
BBC News
25-06-2025
- BBC News
Fraudster jailed for selling fake 'Scottish-grown tea'
A fraudster who tricked luxury hotels and stores into buying "Scottish-grown tea" that was actually from abroad has been jailed for Robinson also conned aspiring tea growers by selling them plants he claimed had been "specially engineered" to grow in Scotland's climate - but in reality they had simply been bought in from 55-year-old, who was known to his many customers as Tam O' Braan, spun an elaborate backstory claiming among other things that he was a former bomb disposal expert, had lived in the Amazon and had invented the "bag for life".Last month he was found guilty of the £550,000 scam that spanned five years from 2014 when he supplied high-end customers such as Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel and the Dorchester in London with varieties of tea with names like Highland Green, Silver Needles and Scottish Antlers Tea. Trading as The Wee Tea Plantation, Robinson claimed his brews had been grown on farmland in Perthshire and Dumfries and Galloway, but really the tea had been bought from a wholesaler in Oxford and resold at hugely-inflated were raised with the authorities when genuine tea growers caught wind that Robinson had populated the Balmoral Hotel's Palm Court luxury tea menu with Scottish brands. Richard Ross bought 500 plants from Robinson in 2015 but as the crop failed he followed stories of Robinson in the media."I heard about the Balmoral tea list and decide to go and have a look," Mr Ross said."He'd taken names of genuine plantations but no-one involved in the actual plantations had heard they were selling to The Balmoral and that's because none of them had produced any tea from their plants."In 2017, Perth and Kinross Council started to check if Robinson had a food processing licence. At the same time Food Standards Scotland (FSS) was alerted and Robinson's fraud began to unravel. Lead investigator Stuart Wilson said: "It didn't take long to establish that the tea he was selling to the hotels was being bought from wholesalers, likely to have originated in Sri Lanka or India."He'd created such a story that people were taken along. Once we started digging into it, it was quite clear that not only could the quantity of tea not be grown but the plants he sold couldn't have been grown either in the quantities claimed."Mr Wilson added: "It was quite clear there were a lot of false claims."He claimed at certain points to be a chemist, a scientist and an agronomist. He claimed to have served in the Army as well as many other things. "Digging in to each aspect, it was quite clear that all of these were falsehoods and he built up his lies upon these falsehoods." 'Sincerest apologies' The Balmoral said it was "shocked and devastated" when the fraud was discovered and has since tightened its procurement manager Andrew McPherson said: "We work hard to support local Scottish food producers, providing them with a global platform to showcase their products."To have been deceived in such a calculated manner left us all profoundly disappointed and embarrassed."As the hotel general manager, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies to everyone affected by this tea incident, particularly our loyal guests, who trusted in the authenticity and quality of our offerings."Robinson couldn't help but embellish his credentials when trying to defraud. He boasted that tea he had supplied to London's Dorchester Hotel in 2017 was "the Queen's favourite". The media was also taken in with numerous stories appearing about his tea "success", including on the BBC News website and in a BBC magazine feature introduced Robinson as having previously lived "on a canoe in the Amazon, bitten by a deadly snake in Brazil and shot at on the Thailand-Burma border" before he turned to his trial, it was heard that he created the "CV of a fantasist" - claiming he was a multi-millionaire, a former bomb disposal expert and an 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 just like a black bin liner. Mr Wilson from the FSS investigation said Robinson was a unique character."Fraudsters will do whatever it take to continue their lies but once caught they tend to diminish away into the background - but Tam O'Brann, or Thomas Robinson, was quite happy to stand up in court and continue his lies."Clearly the jury didn't believe him." Tea enthusiasts Along with the hotels, high-end shops were also targeted, raking in £278,000 for a buyer from the prestigious food store Fortnum and Mason's wanted to visit his plantation near Loch Tay, he hurriedly bought in plants from a nursery in Sussex and put them on scam also hit tea enthusiasts trying to build the industry in defrauded a dozen genuine tea growers in Scotland and one from Jersey by supplying them with 22,000 plants at £12.50 claimed they were "specially engineered" for Scottish conditions but he had actually imported them from a horticulturist in Italy at around £2 per of the plants died or failed to thrive while Robinson made almost £275,000 from the sales. Islay Henderson started growing tea at a plantation in Tighnabruaich, in Argyll and Bute, seven years ago, after hearing a radio interview with and her husband bought 1,500 plants from him."He told us we were buying tea (plants) that were selectively grown in Scotland for 11 years, so we thought we had Scottish seed that had already been trialled. "When we realised they weren't actually from Scotland, it was quite a worry."We felt really lied to – he was promising so much with these plants and I guess that's when the suspicion became a bit more obvious."Robinson denied the fraud at his trial and claimed paperwork that would have proved his innocence had been destroyed in a said he was proud of his work and told the jurors: "I wanted to leave something that would stand in the history of tea." 'Honest toil' Genuine tea grower Mr Ross said the industry in Scotland had been damaged but was now moving on."It's hard enough to convince people that tea growing is a thing in Scotland," he said."It's taken a number of years for us to bolster our credentials. Tea Scotland has now collaboratively produced a tea – a product of honest toil."He added: "Right from the first day when tea was traded in this country there has been nefarious practices around it. "There's been smuggling, contraband tea, counterfeit tea."When there's money to make from a high-value product, there's always somebody who's going to try and take a shortcut and try to make the most of it."
The Independent
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Tea fraudster who conned luxury hotels has sentencing delayed
The sentencing of a fraudster who passed off ordinary tea as a unique, Scottish-grown variety and sold it to luxury hotels, retailers and growers in a near £553,000 scam has been delayed after his lawyer withdrew at short notice. Thomas Robinson, 55, claimed to have cultivated the tea at his Perthshire estate using innovative techniques, but in reality it was bought from wholesalers and grown outside of 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. Representatives of the Balmoral Hotel, the Dorchester Hotel and a company acting on behalf of Fortnum & Mason were among those tricked by the fraudster. A Food Standards Scotland (FSS) investigation found Robinson also misled genuine Scottish tea growers by selling them plants under the false pretence they were a unique, locally-grown variety. He was found guilty of two counts of fraud to a value of almost £553,000 following a trial at Falkirk Sheriff Court in May, which came after an investigation by FSS. Robinson also tried to bolster his credibility by fabricating academic qualifications and industry awards and claimed to have sold tea to customers including Kensington Palace. The 55-year-old, also known as Tam O'Braan and Thomas O'Brien, was due to be sentenced at Stirling Sheriff Court on Wednesday morning. However solicitor Virgil Crawford, who had previously represented Robinson, told the court he was withdrawing from acting on his behalf. Robinson, identifying himself as Thomas O'Brien, appeared by video-link from HMP Low Moss and said he had been informed Mr Crawford was withdrawing 'about 10 to 15 minutes ago'. Sheriff Keith O'Mahony asked whether he had had the opportunity to read the criminal justice social report prepared ahead of sentencing, to which Robinson replied he had not. The sheriff asked whether he would be in a position to offer mitigations on his own behalf if he is sentenced later without legal representation. Robinson said: 'I have notes of mitigation in my cell. I've made some very brief notes in the 10 minutes since I spoke to Mr Crawford. 'In essence I don't think the sentiment will change – there is a deep regret on my part and that's entirely what I'm going to be saying.' The sheriff said he would defer the case until 2.30pm on Wednesday to give the 55-year-old the opportunity to read the report and make inquiries about legal representation. He said: 'I will decide this afternoon whether to proceed to sentence.'
The Courier
01-06-2025
- Business
- The Courier
‘Call me Mr Tea' — The people scalded by Perthshire's great tea scandal
Picture the scene: Paris. March 14, 2015. The great and good of the world's tea industry gather for a lavish party, a celebration of their achievements over the past 12 months. This night at the Salon de Thé awards is a special one for Scotland, as Perthshire's own Wee Tea Plantation scores a coveted gold award. The company's Dalreoch white tea has been crowned the best tea in the world. The announcement sparks a media buzz. The plantation's Tam O'Braan tells BBC Five Live presented Nicky Campbell that morning he cannot attend the ceremony as his wife is about to give birth to twins. But he says he is sending a colleague to read out the speech he penned. 'I suppose you could call me Mr Tea after winning such a major award,' he told reporters. Coupled with a silver gong from the Tea Exchange in London, it really is a remarkable achievement for a Scottish business – particularly one set up just over six months earlier. Except the awards ceremony never happened. O'Braan – known by prosecutors as Thomas Robinson – made it up to boost sales and win contracts. The fake awards were part of a wider deception that hoodwinked not only the owners of some of the country's best known hotels but also wholesalers, journalists, landowners and businesses. Robinson was this week convicted of an elaborate £550k fraud, taking in five-star hoteliers and genuine tea growers. At his trial, he distanced himself from the Salon de Thé prize claiming it was gourmet tea firm Mariage Freres' award. But he said he remembered seeing some kind of gold medallion. 'I didn't get to keep it,' he said. 'But it must have had some standing because the buyers from Fortnum and Mason wanted to display it in their store.' Asked if the whole thing was made up, he said: 'I'm taking it on trust that the award does exist.' The Courier was also caught up in Robinson's web of lies. In February 2017, we reported how thieves had stolen tea leaves from his Dalreoch farm. The report was based on information provided to us by the company, while Robinson was recovering from a heart attack we were told. The theft was never reported to Police Scotland and it emerged during the trial the thefts may have been faked ahead of a council inspection of the land. Here we look at just a handful of others who were caught out by Robinson's great tea blag. In hindsight, alarm bells should have been ringing for London tea seller Alistair Rea, when Robinson – his best customer – asked him to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). The document was purportedly a legally binding contract demanding Mr Rea's silence on all correspondence between him and Robinson. Robinson first contacted sole-trader Mr Rea in August 2015, when his business What-Cha, selling top end tea from around the world, was starting out on eBay. He asked how degradable his loose leaf black tea was, before putting in an order for 30kg. He asked for it to be delivered to a PO address in Glasgow's Bath Street. Over a period of nearly three-and-a-half years, Robinson ordered about 700kg of loose leaf tea from as far afield as China, Malawi and Sri Lanka, often at thousands of pounds a time. He often asked about the produce and requested photos to see if they were 'leafy enough'. Mr Rea, 36, said he had never before been asked by a customer to sign a confidentiality agreement. 'I agreed to sign it to keep the business relationship going,' he said. The paper was sent from Robinson – not from a lawyer – in October 2015, not long after he began buying from What-Cha. In February 2016, Robinson visited Mr Rea's business premises – a spare room at his Islington home – to pick up more tea. Robinson explained to the tea vendor he had been out of action for a while following a heart attack and would making big orders to help catch up with customers. Mr Rea did not know Robinson had a tea plantation but suspected he had been selling on his tea leaves. Peter Pejacsevich, a forester and farmer who owns 680 acres of land on the banks of Loch Tummel, said his interest was piqued when reading a news article about Scottish tea plantations in 2016. One of the people mentioned in the piece was Perthshire's Tam O'Braan whose tea, it stated, was being sold by Fortnum and Mason. Mr Pejacsevich, 70, decided to investigate further, with the idea of growing tea plants on his own land. By email, he contacted Robinson, who he knew only as O'Braan, before meeting up at his Amulree site. There, he could see about 100 or so plants, about a metre high, despite Robinson's claims he had a field of tens of thousands of plants near his home. 'I can't recall if he said if these were grown on the farm but the implication was that they were grown there,' said Mr Pejacsevich. The London-based landowner noticed Robinson had a slight limp, which he told him was 'the result of military action'. Mr Pejacsevich struck a deal to buy 1,200 plants at £15,000. Robinson was given a key and granted access to the farmer's land at Loch Tummel. He told Mr Pejacsevich a group of agricultural students had been employed to harvest the leaves. These so-called 'woofers' – a term for people who work for rural firms in exchange for bed and board – were said to have stayed at the farm with Robinson, although there was no evidence they ever existed. Some time later, Mr Pejacsevich was shown a tea menu from the Balmoral Hotel. It offered jasmine green tea 'grown on the banks of Loch Tummel'. Mr Pejacsevich said there had been no other teas growing near the loch and stressed he had not given Robinson permission to sell on tea from his plantation. In court, Robinson blamed a man called 'Billy' for looking after Mr Pejacsevich's crops. Antiques dealer and farmer Henry Baggott was – initially at least – an enthusiastic supporter. 'It was interesting to hear someone was growing tea in Scotland and doing it so well,' he said. 'It was exciting that someone was championing this here in Scotland.' He got in touch with Robinson – or O'Braan as he knew him – in 2015 and went to visit his farm. There he saw a few hundred plants. 'From what I saw, they seemed to be pretty healthy but it was all new to me at that stage.' During their talks, Robinson told Mr Baggott he had been in the army, 'in a regiment like the Paras.' 'If someone tells you they had been in the army, you believe them,' he said. After tests on his own soil at his wife's family farm near Castle Douglas, Baggott agreed to buy 700 plants. 'Tam came with a team from the plantation. 'There was very little guidance from Tam – it was very much dig a hole, pop in a plant and away we go. 'At the time, we thought this was great. 'It was only subsequently we looked closer and could see they had been badly planted and were in poor quality. They soon started dying.' In the first year, between 25-to-30% of the plants were lost. After about seven years, he only managed to harvest about 100 grammes of tea. Mr Baggott said Tam 'was a very hard man to get hold of after we initially planted his plants.'
