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9am Lowdown: Runaway accountant admits fraud

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5th May 2016
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Good morning. Here is Thursday's 9am Lowdown.

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Runaway accountant admits fraud

A Durham-based accountant accused of taking £41,404 from clothing supplier Devilwear while working as an accounts assistant escaped to Edinburgh to avoid his court hearing, reports the Northern Echo.

Graeme Chapman who failed to appear in court last Thursday was finally spotted in Edinburgh. Chapman’s barrister, Stephen Constantine, blamed his client’s non-appearance at court as ‘burying his head in the sand’

Following discussions with his representative, Chapman changed his plea to guilty. Chapman will be sentenced on 17 June.

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Trainee accountant fined over sex texts

A trainee accountant has pleaded guilty and fined for sending explicit texts and sexual images to people including a work colleague.

According to the Daily Record, Glasgow-based Nikki Ferguson sent messages to three people between November 2014 and February 2015. Ferguson appeared before the Paisley Sheriff Court, pleading guilty to three charges. In her defence, she feared her accountancy career could be derailed by the offences.

Sheriff Simon Frasier fined Ferguson the overall financial penalty of £1,350. Although Frasier recognised how the offences Ferguson committed were “serious and “very unpleasant for the complainer”, he also noted the chances of re-offending was “unlikely”.

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Businessman defrauded over £100,000 in false invoices

A businessman who submitted false invoices to his accountant defrauded HMRC out of £106,216 from VAT refunds. 

According to the Leamington Courier, David Silcock pleaded guilty to falsifying invoices to show that the construction work had been zero-rated, when VAT was charged at standard rate. 

In Silcock’s defence, QC Richard Atkins said “He’s been a bad boy, but he’s put it behind him and he is complying.”

Recorder Bartlett commented: “To send a man of this stature of previous good character to prison would be a complete waste of time, although it does have to be marked by a custodial sentence.”

Silcock was given a suspend an 18 month suspended sentence and ordered to pay £1,800 costs.

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By Moonbeam
30th May 2016 17:40

Previous good character means they haven't been caught at it before now. I agree that prison won't make much difference. I suggest the courts look at taking away his driving licence for the duration of the suspended sentence. I'll bet that would make a difference to him.

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