Trusted Derbyshire employee who swindled Buxton firm out of £35K is jailed
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Derby Crown Court heard how Gordon Abbott, 66, was a trusted friend of the company who “helped him through difficult times” in his personal life as he cared for his sick wife.
Part of the defendant’s role was to help run the finances of MC Properties (Buxton) Ltd for father and son owners Colin and Mark Naylor.
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Hide AdBut over the course of almost four years he secretly withdrew cash and used two company credit cards to pay for booze, food and shopping for himself.
And even on the day his crime was exposed at the firm and he was asked to come into the office and explain himself, he was declared as a missing person by his worried wife.
But Abbott wasn’t missing at all – instead he was spending even more of the firm’s money.
In total, the fraudster took £35,000 belonging to MCP.
Speaking after sentence Mark Naylor said: “It has been hard for the past 17 months not knowing when or if Gordon would be sentenced.
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Hide Ad“Its been even harder the fact Gordon wasn't just an employee, but a family friend for over 10 years. We helped him in difficult times and we trusted him.
“The money he stole was our own money earned through hard work that we will never get back.
“We are hopeful that we can get some closure in the future."
Victoria Rose, prosecuting, said Abbott and his wife were initially employed to clear houses for the firm, but had to be let go when the company lost a large contract.
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Hide AdShe said he then approached them to see if they had any other work and they re-employed him, even agreeing to reducing his hours so he could care for his ill wife and letting him use the works van to save his using his own money for fuel.
Miss Rose said Abbott, of Eccles Close, Hope Valley, was asked to help look after the finances and in doing so took the £35,000 between December 2015 and July 2019, when the fraud was discovered.
She said: “Like many small businesses the directors trusted the defendant, he was friend as well as an employee and so did not look carefully at the bank statements until the summer of 2019 when they were surprised to see payments to the Old Hill Hotel and Morrisons.
“An investigation was launched and it was discovered that in totals £35,000 had been taken by the defendant.”
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Hide AdAbbott pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position at the firm which is based at Waterswallows Industrial Park, in Waterswallows Road, Fairfield, Buxton.
Jailing him for 18 months, Recorder William Harbage QC said: “The Naylors have been good to you, you should feel shame about what you have done to them.
“They are a relatively small business and they saw you as a friend. You were in a position of trust and you abused that.”
William Bennett, mitigating, said his client’s wife died last year and that he had “a problem with alcohol”.
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Hide AdHe said: “He was under a huge amount of personal stress and he lost his moral compass.”