Military clerks at a counter terrorism base 'stole nearly £1million and splashed it on hair transplants and teeth whitening in Turkey', court hears By FRANKIE ELLIOTT FOR MAILONLINE Published: 01:50, 13 November 2024 | Updated: 01:55, 13 November 2024 e-mail Military clerks at a counter-terrorism base 'stole almost £1million' and spent the money on luxury items, hair transplants and teeth whitening procedures, a court has heard. Southwark Crown Court was told how a catastrophic failure of financial checks and balances allowed eight serving soldiers and a civilian accomplice to make hundreds of bogus claims from the Ministry of Defence. Ringleader Cpl Aaron Stelmach-Purdie, 33, used the money - which was meant to be spent on flights, subsistence and operational allowances for troops on missions abroad - to splash on plastic surgery procedures during frequent trips to Turkey.
Detective John Slater told jurors that when officers searched Stelmach-Purdie's home: 'It was almost like something from Pimp My Ride', after they found nine pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes, a Louis Vuitton luggage set and a Range Rover Overfinch parked outside. Stelmach-Purdie and his fellow troops ran the year-long fraud from Regent's Park Barracks in London , it is alleged. Cpl Aaron Stelmach-Purdie (pictured) used the money - which was meant to be spent on flights, subsistence and operational allowances for troops on missions abroad - to splash on plastic surgery procedures during frequent trips t.
