Bombardier ex-manager jailed 6 years

A former manager of Bombardier Inc.’s railway division in Britain was sentenced Monday to six years in prison for defrauding the firm of about $1.15 million, which he used to fund a lavish lifestyle.

Andrew Saunders, 52, was sentenced several days after being found guilty of fraud by abuse of position. He was ordered to serve at least half the sentence behind bars.

Co-defendant Roy George, 55, who operated a courier service, pleaded guilty in January to money laundering. He received a two-year suspended sentence on Monday and was ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.

Bombardier Transportation UK is responsible for maintenance of all Southern Railway trains across the South East of Britain. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sussex police says Saunders, who was manager of Bombardier’s Brighton site, manipulated the payment system and paid money between Aug. 28, 2008 and April 30, 2013 to four fake business accounts.

He issued fake invoices after claiming the work was done for Bombardier by his ex-wife and his friend’s companies. However, the funds were transferred to his own joint accounts, which were used to purchase Harley-Davidsons, a hot tub and skiing holidays in the United States.

Bombardier called the police after they discovered the fraud when Saunders was off sick from work.

The judge said in sentencing that he was “disquieted” by Saunders’s willingness to “trash” everyone including his ex-wife, his firm and his staff in an effort to divert blame.

“You were prepared to cast against anybody,” said Judge Paul Tain, according to a summary of court transcripts.

Judge Paul Tain said the case was glaringly obvious that he was surprised Saunders pleaded not guilty.