By James Simons-
A fraudster working for a city firm has got away lightly after diverting funds and defrauding over £31,000 from his employers account in the City Of London into his own account
Ian Burleton, 42, of Gordon Road, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, at Southwark Crown Court
The former revenue controller had previously pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position at City of London Magistrates’ Court. He was also handed a 30 day rehabilitation order and 180 hours unpaid community work.
In the course of his work for a law firm, Burleton had diverted 13 company payments to a service provider into both his and his partner’s bank accounts: a total of £31,970 over a year and a half.
Ian Burleton, 42, of Gordon Road, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.
The former revenue controller had previously pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position at City of London Magistrates’ Court. He was also handed a 30 day rehabilitation order and 180 hours unpaid community work.
In the course of his work for a law firm, Burleton had diverted 13 company payments to a service provider into his and his partner’s bank accounts: a total of £31,970 over a year and a half.
ACCOUNT DETAILS
An inspection of the banking records revealed Burleton had changed the account details on the invoices, and taken three payments for himself. Following the discovery Burleton was fired, but further investigation revealed that the fraudster he had diverted 10 other payments to a second account in his name, in an attempt to conceal the funds.
The case was reported to Action Fraud and passed to the City of London Police’s fraud squad, and he was arrested on May 8, 2019.
Burleton claimed he had large child maintenance bills he needed to pay. His outgoing payments revealed evidence of him spending large sums of money on flights, holidays and at expensive bars and restaurants.
Det Con Simon Andrews, who led the investigation, said: “Burleton was a wholly deceitful person, abusing the trust put in him by his employer and exploiting his knowledge of their systems to manipulate those around him.
“Thanks to Burleton’s employer acting on suspicions and reporting him to Action Fraud, we have been able to expose him for the serial fraudster that he is.