Staff forced to quit over false overtime claims

FIVE members of staff at Solihull Council have quit since April after they were found to have made fraudulent overtime claims.

The cases were among 44 audit investigations carried out by the local authority in 2019/20, half of which have been completed.

A report this month confirms that five employees had resigned after the bogus claims emerged.

While a report says that the several dozen investigations to date had, in total, saved the local authority £63,000, the council said it would not give any further details on the overtime claims.

The latest update, compiled by Steve Sparkes, the head of audit services, had also made reference to a case publicised over the summer, which saw a former staff member jailed after fraudulently obtaining more than £70,000.

In July it was revealed that Wesley Roberts had been sentenced to three years in prison, after admitting offences under the Fraud Act.

The employee, who was hired as a transport manager in 2015 and dismissed the following year, was found to have presented a false qualification at the start of his employment.

He had also hired vehicles for personal use, paid a £4,000 refund into his own bank account and raised £21,000 in invoices for work that had not been done.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) had asked at what stage the cases had come to light and whether the money had been repaid, but a spokesman declined to comment further.

While counter fraud work often looks at the activities of employees, it also focuses on groups such as council tenants.