Furious ex tipped off suspected love rival about man’s £24k scam

An employee who defrauded his firm in a £24,000 household goods scam is facing jail after his irate ex-partner spilled the beans to his alleged mistress.

Kieron Gilbert, 26, of Antwerp Road, Farrington, Sunderland, set up fake client accounts and ordered pricey items on their behalf – then flogged them.

But his three-month crime spree against Wearside appliances firm Pacifica Group unravelled when his former flame tipped the company off.

She did so in a phone call to a female colleague of trusted customer service advisor Gilbert who she believed he was having an affair with, a court heard

The woman alerted her bosses – and their investigation revealed the depth of his fraud in the period between October 8, 2019, and January 16, 2020.

Gilbert has been warned th e s ta r t i n g p o i nt fo r h i s crime is three years behind bars – and he will be sentenced early in the New Year by a crown court judge.

Prosecutor Marc Atkins to l d m a g i s trate s i n S outh Tyneside: “The defendant worked for a company called Pacifica, which is a company that deals with household appliances.

“The offence came to light when the suspect’s former partner contacted the company, and accused a woman there of having an affair with

The case was heard at South Tyneside Law Courts.

the defendant.

“S h e s a i d th at s h e h ad heard that the defendant had

been stealing from the company.

“Fo r t y - s i x a p p l i a n c e s were ordered between October and January of this year, in which this defendant was creating fake accounts from client companies and taking possession of the goods and making a gain.

“He was interviewed about the offence and admitted it. He has two convictions from three offences, but nothing relevant.

“It’s higher culpability, he was an employee. It’s a starting point of three years.”

The court heard Gilbert, who pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation, took goods to the value of £23,913.

Alaister Naismith, defending, said: “Even on a lowest level of 18 months, it will beyond your scope.”

Magistrates agreed their powers were insufficient to deal with the case and committed Gilbert to appear at Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing on January 21.