Boss stole ‘£30,000’ and gambled it all away on the internet

MANAGER AT SMALL FIRM FALSIFIED DOCUMENTS

A TRUSTED department manager stole thousands of pounds from his employers to fund a gambling addiction, a court has heard.

Nick Beresford’s job included handling payments at JBJ Midlands Ltd, trading as Colourbank Carpets.

He abused his position to regularly help himself to cash and falsified documents to conceal his dishonesty for more than three years.

The 58-year-old pleaded guilty at Leicester Crown Court to theft by an employee of £30,000, between December 2015 and March 2019, and has been jailed for 14 months.

Lauren Butts, prosecuting, said the Crown originally alleged Beresford took £46,950, but agreed to accept the defendant’s basis of plea at a figure of £30,000.

She said he had worked for the company for several years and became a departmental manager with responsibility for arranging deliveries and handling payments, with access to the company computer.

The dishonesty, which included altering invoices and paying nonexistent refunds into his own bank accounts, only came to light after £500 was taken from a petty cash tin.

The defendant confessed and admitted stealing even more money in a variety of ways.

One method was marking orders as cancelled when goods were delivered and paid for.

Miss Butts said Beresford’s criminality affected the company to the extent they had not replaced his role, which other staff were covering.

Described as a family-run business founded 30 years ago, it employs 36 staff with 20 sub-contracted fitters.

Beresford, of Attfield Drive, Whetstone, who has since been made bankrupt and has “no assets”, admitted he had struggled with a gambling addiction for 20 years.

The court heard he had two previous convictions for theft at work, the first in 1987 and second for stealing £1,000 in 2005.

In 2008 he was prosecuted for making a false representation, by submitting a fraudulent reference when applying for a job as a carer.

James Varley, mitigating, said Beresford’s actions were down to obsessive internet gambling and giving in to “temptation”.

He said the defendant eventually had the decency to confess his wrongdoing to his employers.

An offer by him to repay £15,000 of the money was turned down, the court heard.

Mr Varley added that Beresford had a job “in a similar capacity” on a £35,000-a-year salary with another furniture company “because he’s a good salesman”.

He said the new employer was aware of the proceedings and had written a letter to the court.

Beresford has since sought help and had taken positive steps to avoid gambling in future.

Sentencing, Judge Timothy Spencer QC said: “Your last conviction was in 2008 and you spent seven or eight years crime free, before turning back to crime, but I cannot ignore the fact you’ve a record for dishonesty, it’s inescapable.

“This was serial and repeated dishonesty from a trusted employee in breach of a high degree of trust. There were many transactions.

“Your thefts didn’t come to light until what I accept was an act of desperation in March 2019 - when you broke into the cash tin.

“It was desperate because of your gambling addiction - with a desperate need for more money to meet gambling debts and chase losses.

“You knew it was wrong, you knew that every time you took money.”