You are here > Home > News
Accountant thrown in jail for embezzling charity funds
Accountancy News |
23/08/2010
A shamed accountant has been jailed for three years after admitting to the theft of more than £250,000 from a charity backed by Prince Charles.
George Gray, 50, who worked as the financial director at the Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health, was found to have stolen the money over a two-year period.
He had been suffering from financial difficulties and was struggling to pay the mortgage on his £700,000 Barnet home, reports the London Standard.
Charity members became concerned about the state of its finances, leading to the launch of a police investigation earlier this year.
Southwark crown court heard that, upon arrest, Mr Gray immediately confessed to his crimes, having paid charity funds directly into his own bank account.
Prosecutor David Levy described the accountant's fraud as being "deeply unsophisticated".
"[Mr Gray] generated false authorisation by signing off payments with the co-authorship of the chairman and the chief executive," he said.
"More than 40 payments were made. The 19 other charities of the Prince's Trust have also suffered because of this."
Passing sentence, Judge James Wadsworth QC said the theft had been "aggravated" by the fact the defendant had been in a position of trust.
"As a chartered accountant, that should also have been a professional guarantee of honesty," he said.
Mr Gray pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud, one of possessing criminal property and one count of theft. Judge Wadsworth said he had no choice but to issue the defendant a custodial sentence.
Last month, leading accountancy firm BDO reported that UK fraud losses hit a record £1.06 billion during the first six months of 2010.
Mortgage fraud, under-reporting of revenue and VAT avoidance remained the most common crimes, while the average cost of each crime increased by £1 million to £6 million in the space of just 12 months.
Posted by Stephen Wilkinson
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Accountancy Recruitment Agency - Transparent Recruitment Fees Since 1999 - 12.5% Fee / 3 Month, 100% Rebate.
Sign up to our e-newsletter service to receive our headline news directly to your inbox
