SAS man jailed for leading £1million fraud and splurging cash on ‘Love Island lifestyle’
AN SAS pay clerk has been jailed for leading a £1million fraud and splurging the cash on a Love Island lifestyle.
Cpl Aaron Stelmach-Purdie, 34, got his teeth whitened and a hair transplant, as well as buying a Range Rover.
Stelmach-Purdie admitted fraud and money laundering offences and was yesterday jailed for three years and four months.
But Judge Philip Bartle KC spared five of his former colleagues.
He said: “Without him, none of the other defendants would have become involved in the offences.”
Stelmach-Purdie joined the Army at 16 and had a successful career until suffering post traumatic stress from his service in Afghanistan.
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He then took a clerical job at Regent’s Park Barracks in London — the admin HQ of the Special Forces.
From November 2014 to January 2016, he stole more than £910,000 by making 161 bogus claims for flights, subsistence and allowances.
The cash was funnelled through colleagues’ accounts to fund a lifestyle described by one of his co-defendants' lawyers as 'straight out of Love Island'.
When police raided the home of Stelmach-Purdie in Oldham, they found nine pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes, Louis Vuitton luggage and pricey watches.
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He had been to Turkey for cosmetic surgery including abdominal implants to create a six-pack.
He was dishonourably discharged from the Army in 2016 over child sex offences.
Yesterday, four colleagues got suspended terms of a year to two years for letting him use their bank accounts.
His former boss was given a 12-month community order at Southwark crown court.
