20.03.2025

Major rental fraud scheme uncovered

A number of equipment suppliers in the UK have fallen victim to a highly sophisticated fraud scheme.

Determined to prevent others from falling into the trap, Natalie Reynolds of Haulotte has decided to share her experience of how Haulotte UK was defrauded.
In October last year, Haulotte UK was contacted by Diana Rossenga, who claimed to be a senior manager at construction company John Sisk & Son. Rossenga was equipped with professional documentation, including official company stamped purchase orders and signatures, which all checked out. An account was opened and she organised the collection of the equipment from Haulotte's premises on standard 30 day payment terms.

Suspicions began to arise when Rossenga later requested CE certification for equipment from several manufacturers. Subsequent investigations revealed that Nationwide Platforms had experienced a similar incident, with its equipment believed to have been whisked off to Poland. Both Haulotte UK and Nationwide Platforms have subsequently reported the incidents to the police and the National Fraud Agency.

Reynolds said: "It is incredibly distressing and frustrating to know that in spite of rigorous checks done on our behalf, prior to releasing the goods, we were still tricked and consequentially have suffered losses due to these scam artists. It was, and is, a very sophisticated scam and I feel sure that we will not be the last and have therefore chosen to go public in a bid to try to prevent any of our customers or competitors losing money to these individuals."

"What’s even more incredible is that despite reporting this to the police and the fraud squad, we have not had a single reply from them, so I doubt that they are even doing anything about it! Hence why it is even more important to highlight this and hopefully prevent anyone else being caught out."

When contacted by Haulotte, the real John Sisk & Son confirmed that Rossenga was not an employee and - yet while it was aware of the situation - had apparently taken no action regarding the fraudulent use of the company's credentials. When Vertikal.net contacted John Sisk & Son, it also confirmed that Rossenga was not on its employee database, but said that they were unaware of the fraud - we have been waiting on further information from its HR team, but it has failed to follow up.

Further investigation into Diana Rossenga revealed an online profile linking her to the Musgrave Group, an Irish wholesale company. However, attempts to verify this connection through email correspondence and calls has proved unsuccessful, with messages returned as undeliverable. The Musgrave Group said: "We can confirm that there is no person by the name of 'Diana Rossenga' employed by the Musgrave Group. Furthermore, we are aware of other cases of either attempted or actual fraud where that name has been referenced also, although this is the first involving construction equipment. We advise anyone who believes they have had a fraudulent engagement to report it to a local law enforcement authority."

The sophisticated operation utilised professional documentation with company stamps, valid looking purchase orders with PO numbers, legitimate company credentials, and demonstrated a thorough knowledge of industry payment processes.

Earn the reward

Haulotte UK is offering a reward for information leading to the recovery of the equipment which consists of:
- 2 x Optimum 8 scissor lifts – serial numbers 2157559 and 2157632
- 2 x Swiftup 4.5 scissor lifts - serial numbers 224997 and 245640
- 1 x Quickup 12 push arounds - serial number 235441

Anyone with any information should contact Natalie Reynolds at [email protected] or through us at editor@vertikal.net

Please get in touch if you, or someone you know has experienced something similar and we will update this story if and when we learn of any developments.