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Antiques dealer Raymond Scott received sentences totalling eight years after being found guilty of handling a stolen copy of Shakespeare's First Folio and removing the stolen document from Britain.

The rare 17th century compendium of Shakespeare plays was stolen in December 1998 from Durham University. The document was recognized in June 2009 by the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. when Scott offered the work for sale. Suspicious staff quickly contacted local law enforcement, the British Council and the FBI. Though Scott was found innocent of the theft, evidence suggests he was responsible for or had been party to the removal of several parts of the folio in a bid to "hide its true identity". The damage sustained, described by Judge Richard Lowden as an act of "cultural vandalization," is believed to have reduced the value of the folio by approximately £1.5m.

In an interview with the BBC World Service, Julian Radcliffe, chairman of the Art Loss Register, stated "Persistent criminals like Scott deserve eight year sentences for irreparable damage to national heritage."

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