Boss jailed in £1.2m fraud

Boss jailed in £1.2m fraud




A disgraced finance boss has been jailed after defrauding hundreds of thousands of people out of their life's savings….

 A disgraced finance boss has been jailed after defrauding hundreds of thousands of people out of their life’s savings…

The former head of finance at a York-based mutual society called Beneden, has been jailed after defrauding 900,000 out of £1.2 million.

James William Gibbon, 62, used the stolen proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle of huge property investments, cards and expensive holidays.

Gibbon took the money from the society’s 900,000 members, who had teamed up to purchase what they otherwise would not have been able to afford.

Gibbon earned around £48,000 to £55,000 a year, as head of finance from March 1998 to April 2012. 

He was given the responsibility of handling the Society’s corporate account, and used it instead to make payments and cheques for his own benefit.

The court heard how Gibbon continually falsified the Society’s accounts to cover up his crimes.

However in 2012, he was sacked for making unauthorised payments to two female staff members.

Following his swift departure, an internal audit was carried out on the accounts, revealing the extent of Gibbon’s crimes, stretching right back to 2006.

Gibbon pleaded guilty to stealing £1,207,417 from Benenden Healthcare Society between January 1, 2003, and April 4, 2012.
 

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