A businessman who told the criminals that he could sell him a stolen £4.8 million gold toilet "in two seconds" and was sentenced to 21 months probation.

Fred Doe of Winkfield, Berkshire, was found guilty of conspiring to convert or transfer criminal property in March.

The 18-carat toilet was created by concept artist Maurizio Cattelan and was installed at the Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire as part of the exhibition.

Judge Ian Pringle said: “You have limited functions, no personal gain, you have no wider participation, and you have been involved for a short period of time.”

DOE has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for two years and ordered him to do 240 hours of unpaid work.

In September 2019, five men crashed into the palace, tore off the piano in the toilet, and fled a stolen car.

Michael Jones was convicted of crime after a trial at Oxford Crown Court in March.

James Sheen pleaded guilty to the burglary in 2024.

Speaking outside, Doe said: “My good nature has been exploited.

"I'm stuck with something I shouldn't have and now I just want to go home and enjoy my family. I'm a good person."

He stayed in a car surrounded by a bunch of friends who shouted “He’s a good guy” and said they would go for a drink to celebrate.

The judge said the doe had a good character before and accepted that accomplices might have taken advantage of his kindness.

He added that Doe is a “target” for legal contact in the Hatton Garden jewelry area.

Two days after the Golden Toilet was stolen during the early morning raid, the doe sent Sheen a voice message: "I do know the man you need to see... words about the streets of the car."

The court heard that "car" was their code word for gold.

Four years later, Sheen pleaded guilty and stole 18 carats of solid toilet.

Hundreds of text, phone calls and voice messages sent between the two men within two weeks following the robbery will help a strong businessman in the Traveler community convict Doe.

As a work of art, the toilet weighs 98 kg (216 lbs) and is insured for $6 million (£4.8 million).

The court was told that the price of gold at that time would have meant that the individual metal was worth £2.8 million.

It is not clear exactly when the thieves divide the toilet into smaller pieces, or whether they themselves melted the gold.

But the court heard within two days of the robbery that Sheen was looking for a buyer to offer gold at £25,500 per kilogram.

In the voice message, Doe, also known as Fred Sines, told Sheen: “I can sell that car for you in two seconds.”

He also heard his opinion, explaining the expectation of a deal: "You get payment within 48 hours, which is my guarantee. Personal guarantee."

But he also urged to keep it a secret: "Jim, it's clear. It's strictly for me to stay between you and me."

Doe held a meeting between Sheen and Bullion dealers in Hatton Garden, London's jewelry district.

He told the toilet thief that the dealer "knows all the car's results."

He added: "What is a car, what is, it is not. You know, these boys are 100 million percent for me."

In the end, the deal went sour, it collapsed without selling.

Instead, Sheen sold twenty kilograms of gold to an unknown buyer in Birmingham for £520,000.

During the trial, the doe admitted that he had been trying to help Sheen sell the gold, but denied that he had known it had been stolen, calling the toilet thief a "idiot" and let him down.

His defense lawyer told the jury that “the loss to the bottom of the country cannot be placed at the feet of Fred Doy”.

But the jury found him guilty.

Judge Pringer said in his judgment: “I am a middleman at best, and in my opinion he is the target of James Sheen because you know many of the people in Hatton Garden because you know something about valuable watches.

“In all the references I have read, you are described as kind, caring, selfless, and someone exploiting someone.”

Sheen and Jones were both convicted of burglary and will be sentenced in June.

No gold in the toilet has been restored.