Fraudsters scam famed London cheese company out of $390,000 of cheddar

Scammers have stolen more than 24 tons of artisanal cheese from one of Britain’s most famous dairy companies.

London-based Neal’s Yard Dairy revealed it had been the victim of the unusual heist in a post on Instagram last week, where it shared some “difficult news.”

“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 said.

The company said it had been approached by a “fraudulent buyer posing as a legitimate wholesale distributor for a major French retailer.”

The firm – which sells top-quality British and Irish cheeses to stores and restaurants around the world – only found out it had been scammed when it was too late. The cheeses – which were sourced from three different artisanal makers – had been handed over to the fraudsters.

The post continued: “Over 950 wheels of Hafod, Westcombe, and Pitchfork Cheddar were delivered before the fraud was discovered. Despite the significant financial blow, we have honoured our commitment to our small-scale suppliers and paid all three artisan cheesemakers in full.”

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has appealed to his millions of social media followers to keep an eye out for the stolen goods, which he said has cost the firm £300,000 ($390,000).

Oliver said in a video posted on Instagram: “You’re going to think I’m joking but I’m not – there’s been a great cheese robbery.

“Some of the best cheddar cheese in the world has been stolen,” he added.

Describing the theft as a “real shame,” Oliver went on to say: “If anyone hears anything about posh cheese going for cheap, it is probably some wrong’uns.”

Questioning what the thieves might do with “lorryloads of posh cheese,” he said: “Are they going to unpeel it from the cloth, and cut it and grate it and get rid of it in the fast food industry, in the commercial industry? I don’t know – it seems like a really weird thing to nick.”

Tom Calver from Westcombe Dairy – one of the companies that supplied the stolen cheese to Neal’s Yard Dairy – said on Instagram that the crime had been “quite difficult to fathom.”

In a video recorded in front of rows of empty shelves in the dairy, Calver said: “We’re one of three cheesemakers that fulfilled this order to these guys who basically impersonated a wholesaler/customer for quite a large retailer over in France.

“It was a hoax – it was theft, it was fraud.”

Another of the cheesemakers, Trethowan Brothers, which supplied the Pitchfork Cheddar, wrote: “Please keep your ears and eyes peeled for good cheese going cheap and please please also support @nealsyarddairy. Despite this devastating loss, they have been absolutely incredible and have fully (and swiftly) paid us cheesemakers.”

Neal’s Yard Dairy said it is “working with law enforcement authorities to identify the perpetrators of this fraud.”

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told CNN in an email that they were informed of the theft on October 21. The statement added: “Enquiries are ongoing into the circumstances. There has been no arrest.”