article_snippet.sent: Southend Crown Court heard how the conspiracy was uncovered, following a period during which Gridley and colleague Jay Reed were under suspicion.
article_snippet.sent: The court heard that Jay Reed and another defendant James Munyard had been pressured into taking part in the scam by Gridley, who was Reed and another defendant James Munyard superior.
article_snippet.sent: Jay Reed was deemed to have been in a position of trust and responsibility in the criminal enterprise, but Recorder Gerard Pounder said Jay Reed had a lesser role than Gridley, 26, and Munyard even less so.
article_snippet.sent: Despite hearing Gridley, of Tilbury,  financially supported Jay Reed former partner and their two-year-old child but also Jay Reed own father and grandparents, Recorder Gerard Pounder said Jay Reed had no choice but to send Jay Reed to prison.
article_snippet.sent: Sentencing Jay Reed to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and 200 hours' unpaid work, Jay Reed said: 'You were in a lesser role than Mr Gridley