Financial Director Steals £1.5m From Firm

A financial director who stole around £1.5m from his employers to help feed his gambling habit has been jailed.

He was sentenced to five years on Thursday 23 August 2012.

At an earlier hearing at Bolton Crown Court, Taylor had pleaded guilty to four offences of theft and two offences of fraud by abuse of position.

Taylor siphoned off a total of £1,553,636, from Nema Ltd, an engineering firm based on Chichester Street, Rochdale.

Taylor worked for the company for 12 years but since 2008 the firm, which had been profitable and turning over an average of £3million a year, began to be making a loss.

It was initially assumed to be linked to the general economic downturn. Such was the impact on the company’s finances that Taylor even suggested to the managing director that jobs needed to be shed.

This was done and three members of staff were laid off but the money problems continued. A firm of accountants were eventually brought in November 2010 to examine the company’s books.

During his interview with the accounts Taylor confessed he had been stealing large sums of money from the company to help feed his gambling habit.

At this point the police were called in and Taylor was arrested.

He also admitted stealing £17,000 from the estate of his late mother, again to feed his internet bingo habit and blamed another family member for the thefts.

Detective Constable Deborah Jameson, of Rochdale CID said: "Such was the scale of the financial disaster unleashed on this unsuspecting company by Taylor that they had to lay staff off.

"So, not only did his self-serving greed impact on the company’s balance books, but it had a human impact too. Losing your job under any circumstance can be traumatic, but to know it was the deliberate actions of a desperate gambler must make it so much worse.

"Not only is that crime bad enough but to go on after this and steal money from the account of his late mother when he was entrusted by her and the family to deal with her will accordingly, is shocking.

"Due to his actions, he has disgraced the wishes of his mother, leaving her grandchildren with no inheritance. The hurt he has caused has affected all of his extended family but I am sure with the support they have given each other, they can move on. "

(GK)