Two men involved in £4.75m gold toilet heist to be sentenced
13 June 2025, 08:38
A pair of men who helped steal a £4.75 million gold toilet from Blenheim Palace are due to be sentenced on Friday afternoon.
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The sentencing of James Sheen, 40, and Michael Jones, 39, is due to take place at Oxford Crown Court on Friday afternoon.
The two were involved in a the theft of a fully functional 18-carat solid gold toilet, artwork created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.
It was considered a star attraction in an exhibition, when it was stolen by thieves who smashed their way into the palace with sledgehammers in 2019.
It was believed to be worth £2.8 million at the time of the theft. The 'audacious raid' took place in less than five minutes.
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Sheen has pleaded guilty to one count each of burglary, conspiracy to transfer criminal property and transferring criminal property.
Meanwhile, a jury found Jones guilty of one count of burglary following a trial lasting around four weeks.
Sheen is said to have put in motion a plan to steal the toilet. He then sent Jones to conduct a recce of the palace and its grounds on two occasions in the lead up to the burglary, on 7 and 13 September.
In the latter trip, Jones bought a Blenheim Palace membership and booked to use the toilet, taking photos of the sculpture, the room it was in and potential entry and exit points for the burglary.
The raid was carried out in the early hours of 14 September. Two stolen vehicles, a VW Golf and an Isuzu truck, entered the palace grounds at speed.
This was followed by gaining entry with the use of sledgehammers and a crowbar.
The news follows Frederick Doe, 36, avoiding jail time and being handed a suspended sentence for his involvement in the plot.
The son of a multimillionaire was handed 21 months imprisonment suspended for two years, alongside 240 hours of unpaid work.
After the theft of the toilet, it is reported Doe contacted Sheen and offered to find a buyer for the gold and brokered the deal.
During the deal-making, both men referred to the gold bars as ‘cars’, each worth £26,000.
Sheen made trips to London and received the cash for the gold.
