Neal’s Yard Dairy, one of Britain’s top artisanal cheese suppliers, recently fell victim to a sophisticated scam orchestrated by French fraudsters, losing over 24 tons of cheddar in the process.
In an Instagram update, Neal’s Yard revealed that it had been approached by a “fraudulent” buyer posing as a legitimate wholesale distributor for a major French retailer.
“Neal’s Yard Dairy has been the victim of a theft resulting in the loss of over 22 tonnes (24.25 tons) of clothbound Cheddar,” the post continued.
The company, which is well known for supplying high-quality British and Irish cheeses worldwide, discovered they had been scammed after it was too late. By then, the cheeses, which had been sourced from three different artisanal producers, had already been handed over to the fraudsters posing as legitimate buyers.
“Over 950 wheels of Hafod, Westcombe, and Pitchfork Cheddar were delivered before the fraud was discovered,” the post said. “Despite the significant financial blow, we have honored our commitment to our small-scale suppliers and paid all three artisan cheesemakers in full.”
It’s estimated that the total amount of cheese stolen was worth approximately $390,000.
Neal’s Yard Dairy said it is “working with law enforcement authorities to identify the perpetrators of this fraud.”
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