£54,000 fraud by IT man

A SHOLVER IT technician defrauded his company out of at least £54,000 by buying computers on its account which he sold on eBay or used himself, York Crown Court heard.

John Shaw (35) ran the scam at York-based Invensys Rail for nearly five years until management realised he was spending considerably more than expected and investigated, said Rachael Landin, prosecuting.

He had been allowed to buy items for the company, but between 2008 and 2013, he obtained MacBooks, laptops, televisions, memory cards and other electronic equipment, including a set of £1,000 speakers, for himself by using false details in the company purchases systems.

Redundant

The company no longer exists, having been bought or taken over by Siemens since, and during the investigation staff had been made redundant.

Shaw, of Sholver Lane, admitted fraud of £54,000. That figure was not accepted by the prosecution which had charged him with fraud of £119,000, but Judge Colin Burn said the difference would not affect the sentence.

He passed a 21-month prison sentence, suspended for two years on condition Shaw does 300 hours’ unpaid work. Shaw must also pay £2,000 prosecution costs.

The judge said he could only suspend the sentence because Shaw had pleaded guilty.

Defence solicitor Kevin Blount said he had needed to pay off debts incurred when he was in a relationship that had since ended.

He suffered from depression but was hoping to start counselling soon, the court heard.

He is now working as an IT technician in a role that does not include purchasing responsibilities.