Three directors of Manchester-based second hand computer and printer parts supplier Ravelle have been convicted of a £3.25m fraud against their creditors.

Raymond Nevitt has been convicted at Manchester Crown Court of five counts of fraudulent trading. Jeremy Greene has been convicted of three counts and Kay Boardman has pleaded guilty at a pre-trial hearing to one count.

The trio are to be sentenced on a day yet to be confirmed during the week commencing 28 April.

All three defendants were directors of companies in the Ravelle Group, namely Ravelle Limited, PC2GO Limited and Ravelle Printers Limited trading as ‘Just Printers Limited’ – all based in Trafford Park, Manchester.

The fraud centered around the creation of false sales documents and a chain of inter-company transactions that were designed to deceive factoring companies, namely IBM and Barclays, into providing finance to the company.

The case was initially referred to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) by Greater Manchester Police in June 2001 following concerns expressed by the administrative receivers of the Ravelle Group of companies. The case was accepted for investigation by the SFO in the same month. The defendants were charged in February 2005 and the trial opened on 8 January 2008. The final verdict was given today.

This latest case follows an original trial in which Raymond Nevitt and two other defendants were convicted of conspiracy to defraud a government training fund. The Judge granted Nevitt pre-sentence bail but he absconded and was sentenced in his absence. Nevitt was tried ‘in absentia’ for the recent case.

Detective constable Julian King, from Greater Manchester Police commercial fraud unit, said: “This was a complex and elaborate fraud that allowed Nevitt to live an opulent and lavish lifestyle.

“However he would not have been able to achieve it without backup from Greene and Boardman. This fraud did not just affect banks. Dozens of staff from Ravelle in Trafford Park lost their jobs as a result of Nevitt’s crimes. Several small companies also failed both in the UK and on the Continent as a result of this fraud.”

King urged anyone who has seen or knows Nevitt to call Manchester Police on 0161 856 6400 or ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.