Town fraudster jailed after £145,000 scam (From Burnham & Highbridge Weekly News)

Town fraudster jailed after £145,000 scam

12:02pm Wednesday 4th July 2007

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A FRAUDSTER from Burnham who stole over 145,000 from a law firm in a "highly devious" scam has been jailed for 28 months.

Poplar Road man Allan Geoffrey Thompson, 54, pleaded guilty to ten theft offences, two of falsifying documents and asked for a further 25 thefts and 11 false accounting crimes to be taken into consideration.

Bristol Crown Court heard prosecutor Paul Cook explain how Thompson took money from estates accounts he had access to between 1998 and 2006 when he worked at Veale Wasbrough.

Thompson, who could issue cheques on behalf of the company, paid money from clients' estates to himself and later his son's partner - who trusted him and had no idea what he was doing.

Mr Cook said: "He would pay money from one account to another to effectively cover his tracks.

"He was living beyond his means. He was supporting his wife and paying his son's private school fees."

When Veale Wasbrough discovered what had happened the firm reimbursed clients accounts in full, before notifying police.

For this full story, see this week's Weekly News.

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