Grover C. Magnus 
A contractor has been jailed for 18 months for submitting fake invoices worth £36,000 to a company that builds sets at a Bridgend television and film studio.
Liam Pattison, 34, from New Zealand Road in Heath, Cardiff, was employed at Dragon Studios for a week in the summer of 2019 on the set of The best of worldsa short-lived television series based on the 1932 novel by Aldous Huxley.
Pattison was one of 150 contractors hired to prepare the set by 4Wood TV and Film, but continued to clamor for work long after learning his services were no longer needed.
Joshua Scouller, prosecuting, said many of those employed by 4Wood were recruited through social media or word of mouth, and “not much due diligence was done in relation to paying bills”.
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He said the company’s accountant paid the invoices on the basis of their authenticity, unless there were obvious discrepancies.
Pattison submitted 27 fake invoices from June 2019 to January 2020, Cardiff Crown Court heard on Monday.
His fraud was finally spotted when he continued to claim seven-day weeks and double time on a Sunday, despite the fact that the amount of work available had drastically decreased.
Company bosses also discovered that his car had not been to the studios since June 2019.
The court heard that Pattison had submitted invoices worth £36,000, although only £33,120 had been paid.
4Wood said the fraud made it harder to fight the pandemic and forced him to lay off more.
Pattison admitted defrauding by misrepresentation.
He has previous convictions for robbery, criminal damage, possession of an offensive weapon and sexual assault, the court heard.
Lucy Crowther, for Pattison, said he struggled with alcohol and cocaine abuse at the time of the offense, but moved back in with his father and got his addiction under control.
She said he felt shame and remorse for his actions and admitted guilt at the earliest opportunity.
Jailing him for 18 months, Judge Tim Petts told Pattison the fraud had caused 4Wood “considerable stress and anxiety” as they faced the first lockdown.
The best of worlds aired on the American streaming service Peacock but was canceled after one season.
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