Northwich businessman sentenced for possession of criminal property

A man from Northwich has been sentenced after he admitted possession of thousands of pounds worth of cash which had been stolen during an armed robbery.

Benjamin Kershaw appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday 12 February 2024 where he was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years.

The 43-year-old, of Oakleigh Rise, Northwich, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of criminal property.

The case against him began on Saturday 8 August 2020 when officers conducted a warrant at his former home on Bishops Way, Northwich, in relation to an unrelated matter.

While searching the address officers discovered £20,710 cash inside Kershaw’s house and in his car parked on the  driveway.

Tests revealed that more than £11,000 worth of the bank notes were stained with a green/blue dye, meaning that they could have only come from an ATM attack or cash in transit robbery.

During questioning Kershaw initially claimed that he got the cash after selling a Rolex watch to an unknown person while on holiday.

However, messages and images discovered on his phone revealed the cash was actually from an armed robbery and that Kershaw was laundering the money for an organised crime gang.

Following the sentencing Detective Constable Claire Heatley, of Northwich Proactive Team, said:

“Kershaw portrayed himself as a successful honest businessman, but in reality, he is a criminal who was clearly involved in laundering stolen cash of behalf of his criminal associates.

“The messages we discovered on Kershaw’s phone were damning. They revealed that the money found at his home had been stolen during an armed robbery in around 2018.

“They also revealed that Kershaw had employed team of criminal associates to remove the dye from the stained bank notes so that it could be used legitimately.

“Thanks to these messages, along with the other evidence we gathered, Kershaw was no left with no option but to eventually plead guilty to the charges against him.”

Kershaw has also been banned from being a company director for his unfit conduct whilst running several businesses.