A Driver CPC training instructor has pleaded guilty to committing fraud.
Mark Johnson changed his plea to guilty after a trial began at Exeter Crown Court on 2 February.
Johnson took almost £3,000 from 27 HGV drivers and delivered Driver CPC training in April and May 2014 but never uploaded their CPC training modules. Johnson had been a member of training consortium DriverCPC4U and had taken money from the drivers who expected the hours to be uploaded. Speaking to CM after the hearing, Lauren Andrew, who organises driver recruitment for waste operators, said she became suspicious when in July 2014 the Driver CPC training had not been officially logged with the DVSA.
She said Johnson had fobbed her off with excuses, but as the Driver CPC deadline approached she contacted the police and reported him. “Companies House showed he was not the director he purported to be,” she said.
Andrew told CM that some drivers who were in full employment had to find another course quickly.
She added: “I am glad we have got it resolved, the only thing is it could take a long time to pay off.”
Johnson is due to be sentenced on 26 February.
