Kevin Woolgar, a former club designer, sourcing agent and commercial representative for UK-based golf equipment company Lynx Golf, has been found by the High Court to have benefitted from millions of pounds of deceitfully-obtained secret commissions.
Woolgar, from East Sussex, began working as a commercial representative for Lynx in 2011, and was entrusted by the brand to design bespoke golf clubs, source golf products from manufacturers in China, and negotiate prices. However, unbeknown to Lynx, Woolgar agreed prices with factories in China before inflating them in the invoices he subsequently provided to Lynx and pocketing the secret commissions he made over a period of more than a decade.
In a damning indictment released on July 22, the High Court in London found that this enabled Woolgar to benefit from hidden commissions ranging from 5-75% of the real factory price of the goods. In total, the Court determined that 25% of over $8m paid by Lynx Golf to Woolgar amounted to improper secret commissions and must be repaid to Lynx.
Woolgar’s inaccurate invoices were only identified due to a random HMRC audit of the company’s tax affairs, by which time he had already benefitted substantially from the commissions, believed to be in excess of $2m.
A hearing to determine how much Lynx will be repaid is to be announced soon.
A spokesperson for Lynx, which is in private ownership, said: “Bringing someone to book for their wrongdoings – whilst the right thing to do – is never easy. The last three-plus years have carried enormous stress. We at Lynx pride ourselves on being honourable people, but nobody should ever mistake nice for being an easy target; once we discovered we were seriously defrauded, we acted swiftly, decisively and tenaciously to seek justice.
“We find ourselves fully vindicated by the findings of the High Court, and its unequivocal judgment that Kevin Woolgar wrongfully benefitted from millions in fraudulently-obtained secret commissions. We look forward to receiving full recompense in due course.
“Lynx’s mission is to provide top quality golf equipment to the millions who love the game, and our loyal base of supporters and customers will continue to benefit from all of the investments we make in ensuring that these goals are met.”
