‘Thoroughly dishonest’ gambler stole tenant fees
Lettings collector siphoned off deposit cash into betting account
A lettings manager who stole thousands of pounds collected from tenants has been jailed for 20 months.
Gambling addict Lee Grace was originally accused of squirrelling away more than £78,000, while he claimed it was around £16,000.
A judge found the figure was about £45,000.
The 42-year-old committed the fraud between October 2014 and February 2016 while working for Kings Hill Properties estate agents in Kings Hill.
Grace, who had just finished a prison sentence for similar matters, admitted fraud and transferring criminal property, but disputed the amount.
The firm’s managing director Tony Petty was called to Maidstone Crown Court to give a witness statement.
Grace started work at the estate agents in late 2014 and was responsible for collecting cash – mainly from deposits and rental fees.
In February last year Mr Petty received a complaint from a landlord that his rent had not been paid.
It was then discovered that Grace had been taking money and reconciling accounts with cheques from other tenants.
The number of tenants affected by the dishonesty was originally thought to be 44. The estate agents covered the losses – so no tenants are believed to have been left out of pocket.
Tenants from Kings Hill, Maidstone, Leybourne and West Malling gave statements confirming they had handed over cash to Grace and signed a receipt for payment.
A couple living in Russett Way, Kings Hill, paid £10,153 in cash to Grace in 2015 – but KHP’s accounts showed nothing had been deposited against them.
Another couple went to the offices to give notice of leaving, but there was no record of them ever having been registered at the property.
The couple had paid Grace a holding fee of £550 and £3,140 rent in advance.
A suggestion by Grace that cash was being siphoned off by KHP to evade corporation tax was rejected “100%” by Judge Philip St John-Stevens.
The judge said Grace – of Allsworth Close, Newington, near Sittingbourne – was “a thoroughly dishonest individual” in a downward spiral of gambling.
The court heard a check on Grace’s bank statements revealed many payments to a betting company.
He had opened an account with them in May 2015. Just under £60,000 was deposited into this account up to February last year.