A British Army quartermaster has been sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding the Ministry of Defence (MoD) out of almost £500,000 worth of supplies. Jed Charlot, 45, ordered over 600 items, including printers and toner cartridges, which he then sold on eBay to fund a lavish lifestyle. His fraudulent activities were uncovered when an MoD administrator noticed discrepancies in supply orders.
Charlot, who was married and serving as a quartermaster sergeant with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Tidworth, Wiltshire, began defrauding the MoD after becoming pressured by his girlfriend to prove his wealth. The prosecution revealed that between late 2021 and the end of 2022, Charlot used his MoD email account to place fraudulent orders, which he then resold to companies in both the UK and the US.
In total, Charlot stole £487,919.80 worth of equipment and made £349,120.68 from selling it. The fraud was discovered when a civilian administrator preparing for an operation in Germany realised the unit was short of printers. Further investigation revealed that Charlot had placed 676 orders over the course of a year, carefully keeping the amounts under thresholds that would raise alarms.
When confronted by a senior officer, Charlot initially claimed he had been hacked. However, his home was later searched, and police found luxury items including a Louis Vuitton handbag, two Tag Heuer watches, a Garmin exercise watch, and a Mont Blanc pen. Charlot had used the proceeds from the sales to buy designer clothing and gifts for his family.
Defending, Charlot’s lawyer, Mary Cowe, described his offence as “inexplicable” given his previously “exemplary conduct” in the army. She also explained that Charlot had been undergoing therapy, acknowledging that he should have handled his personal pressures differently.
Judge Taylor stated that Charlot’s fraudulent actions began when he started an affair and sought to impress his mistress by pretending to be wealthy. He used the stolen money to buy gifts and fund extravagant purchases.
Charlot, from Andover in Hampshire, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and was sentenced to three years in prison. He left the army in June 2024.
