© Reach plc Mold Law Courts
A former furniture salesman stole thousands of pounds from his former boss to fund his own gambling addiction. Matthew Harry, of Bentley Place in Wrexham, previously admitted to fraud by abuse of position.
Prosecutor David Mainstone said that the 37-year-old defendant targeted Paul Johnson, who ran the busy furniture showroom Goldilocks Cottage on Henblas Street in the heart of central Wrexham. The court heard that Mr Johnson gave Harry a job in October 2017 after one of his staff members had to take an extended period of time off.
Mr Johnson was impressed with Harry, who regularly hit his sales targets and was rewarded with bonuses as a result. The judge heard that he was eventually trusted by the businessman with more responsibility such as running the shop unsupervised.
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The court heard that Mr Johnson had been away in Thailand in January 2018 when his bank alerted him to the fact his business account had become overdrawn. Enquiries revealed that after the shop had closed Harry had been authorising refunds into his own bank account.
He was sacked in March 2018, but never returned his copy of the shop keys to Mr Johnson. After his sacking, Harry continued to take cash that wasn’t his.
He was captured on CCTV entering and leaving the shop after he had been let go, said Mr Mainstone. The court heard how he used his key to enter the shop once everyone had gone home and authorised further refunds for himself to the tune of £9,067.
The defendant was seen on camera once again trying to use his key in May 2018, but couldn’t do so as Mr Johnson arranged for the locks to be changed after realising what the defendant was doing. Harry was arrested and interviewed in June where he claimed to have forgotten about handing the keys back.
He owned up to making one refund, claiming that Mr Johnson “owed him wages”. However, the cops showed him the CCTV which prompted him to admit to giving himself more refunds but he maintained that he was “only paying himself wages” and claimed not to have thought that was theft.
Defending, Ember Wong, told the judge her client’s “opportunistic” offending took place during “a period of desperation”. She said Harry was in the grips of a gambling addiction at the time which she argued provided some insight into his mind frame at the time.
The man sat in the dock of Mold Crown Court is a “world away” from the person who committed these crimes five years ago, she added, now having a full-time job, stable home and loving relationship in place. After speaking to her client in court, Ms Wong said that Harry is prepared to pay back his ill-gotten gains.
Judge Niclas Parry said: “This was repeated offending over six months that involved numerous fraudulent transactions and a very serious breach of trust. There’s been a significant loss and it all goes to prove what is obvious – that you are a thoroughly dishonest man.
“I bear in mind what has been urged on your behalf, and I also bear in mind we are going back some five years. There has been no repeat offending and you appear to have stability in your life. It seems to me the public are going to be far better served by the 16-month sentence being suspended for two years.”
He must complete 250 hours of unpaid work. Compensation for the full amount of stolen cash is to be paid back to the victim.
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