Finance director jailed after gambling-fueled £1.9M fraud at Birkenhead firm

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Finance director jailed after gambling-fueled £1.9M fraud at Birkenhead firm. Mugshot of Allan Wood

A finance director who swindled a enterprise primarily based in Birkenhead, England, out of almost £1.9 million ($2.4 million) has been sentenced to jail after his “predilection for gambling bought out of hand.”

Allan Wooden, 59, from Saltersgate in Ellesmere Port, appeared at Liverpool Crown Courtroom on Tuesday (December 23) after admitting to 4 counts of fraud by abuse of place linked to his position at Cammell Laird.

The case first got here to mild in January 2021, when the allegations had been reported to Merseyside Police, triggering an investigation by their Financial Crime Workforce.

As detectives dug into the corporate’s funds, they uncovered the dimensions of the fraud. Over greater than a decade, Wooden siphoned off an eye-watering amount of cash from his employer.

Finance director Allan Wooden moved cash into accounts for playing and private spending

Between 2007 and 2008 alone, he dishonestly redirected firm funds for his personal profit, shifting greater than £1.5 million ($2 million) into private accounts and utilizing firm cash to repay his private bank card payments.

On high of that, Wooden signed off on greater than £315,000 ($426,000) in what was described as “unauthorised company leisure,” spending firm money on himself, buddies, and household. This included charging the agency for tickets to the Champions League last and soccer season tickets. Based on the Liverpool Echo, when questioned later, he even got here up with a far-fetched declare that the spending was related to suspected spying inside the firm.

Altogether, his actions left Cammell Laird out of pocket by £1,870,243.

On the time the fraud was happening, the corporate was already underneath severe monetary strain. Board members needed to put in massive sums of their very own cash simply to maintain issues afloat, whereas employees confronted the very actual menace of layoffs and strike motion.

Wooden was sentenced to 5 years and three months in jail.

Detective Constable Laura Madden, who led the investigation, stated: “This fraud positioned a enterprise underneath important monetary strain, inflicting misery and fear to all workers. Let’s not additionally overlook the influence it will have had on their households as many feared for his or her jobs.

“This influence was clearly misplaced on Wooden and he’ll now be left to contemplate the total penalties of his actions whereas he serves time in jail.

“Fraud can and does devastate people and companies, and fortunately Wooden has now been prevented from inflicting any extra hurt.”

Featured picture: Merseyside Police

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