Father-of-two paint firm boss, 33, who stole £40,000 from company to fund his secret ‘addiction’ to call girls and cocaine after breakdown of marriage is jailed for nearly two years
- George Smith, 33, worked for Bromborough Paints when he stole the money
- He sold paint and wallpaper for cash before pocketing the money for himself
- His offending was discovered when the company carried out an audit
- Police checked his bank statements, finding regular purchases in hotels and bars
- At Manchester Crown Court, he admitted theft by employee and was jailed
A company manager who stole £40,000 from his employers to fund cocaine fuelled encounters with escorts following the breakdown of his marriage has been jailed.
George Smith, 33, was working for Cheshire-based Bromborough Paints – now known as Paintwell – when he began raiding the till.
The father of two, who earned £27,000 a year as a branch manager, had been found selling pots of paints and rolls of wallpaper to tradesmen for cash before pocketing the money for himself.
His offending was discovered when the company carried out an audit and, when police later checked his bank statements, they found Smith had made regular purchases from food outlets, nightclubs and hotels.
When confronted by his company, Smith said he had squandered all the money he stole as he had become ‘addicted to drink, cocaine and prostitution’.
At Manchester Crown Court, Smith, of Winnington, Northwich, admitted theft by employee and was jailed for 21 months.
Afterwards, Giuseppe Alfonso, finance director of Paintwell, described Smith’s offending as ‘incredibly shocking’.
George Smith (pictured), a former branch manager at a paint firm, has been jailed for 21 months after admitting theft by employee
Manchester Crown Court heard Smith was appointed manager of Bromborough Paint’s Trafford Park branch in September 2016 before the thefts began in January 2018
Manchester Crown Court heard the thefts began in January 2018 after Smith was appointed manager at the firm’s Trafford Park branch, near Manchester in September 2016.
Rachel Widdecombe, prosecuting, said Smith’s offending did not come to light until May 2019 when Mr Alfonso undertook an audit and noticed stock adjustments were being made ‘in an unusually high amount’.
Mr Alfonso found all the erroneous adjustments had been made by the defendant, Ms Widdecombe told the court, and organised a meeting with Smith to discuss the discrepancies in which he accepted he was responsible and ‘had got himself in a rut’.
Ms Widdecombe added: ‘[Smith] went on to say that he was glad he had been caught as it would put an end to his offending.
‘He told Mr Alfonso that he had been stealing paint to order since before March 2018 and suggested he had developed an addiction to drink, drugs and prostitution. He did not expand on whether that was an addiction that only developed after he became employed as the branch manager.
‘The defendant’s bank statements indicated he was far from being in debt.
‘In fact he chose to make numerous cash withdrawals and regular purchases from restaurants or food outlets, nightclubs, hotels often making multiple purchases at the same venue during the same day.
‘His wages from the company were paid into that account with no obvious reference to outgoings such as rent or a mortgage.
‘The vast majority of the £40,000 or so that he accepts he stole cannot be traced.’
After the meeting, Smith was suspended, but when quizzed by police he gave no comment and claimed he had no idea why he had been suspended, the court heard.
Mr Alfonso concluded that during the 17 months Smith had stolen from the company, 4,813 items, including paint and wallpaper, had gone missing, the court was told.
Manchester Crown Court was told that when tradesman came in to the store and bought items, Smith would offer a cash price free of VAT then cancel the sale voiding the transaction. It meant the stolen paint would then not show up as being sold on company records.
In mitigation defence counsel Mr Simeon Evans said: ‘[Smith] was unfortunately not the only person who stole from the company in this way. In fact not long after this defendant was caught, there was another staff member detected.
‘However he accepts that he took £40,000 for himself and he feels shame for his offending.
‘He was not claiming that money because he was in debt, he in fact frittered it away in the ways that have been disclosed, having felt pressure from the breakup of his marriage which many people have to suffer.
‘He is a man of good character who had invested in his marriage and his children but the end of the marriage was the fault line that sparked this. There was a background of alcohol abuse and other substances which has played a significant part in this offending.
‘It came as an enormous shock to his family and they have struggled with that. They do not condone it but are supporting him. His shame is going to be very public indeed.’
Smith, who earned £27,000 a year as a branch manager, had been found selling pots of paints and rolls of wallpaper to tradesmen for cash before pocketing the money for himself
Sentencing Smith, Judge Hilary Manley told him: ‘You stole stock and sold it to customers at a reduced price to keep the cash for yourself. You spent the cash on meals at restaurants, prostitutes and cocaine and it’s all gone.
‘The difficulties in your marriage may well cause you anguish and stress but that is no excuse for this behaviour.
‘It is not even like you were in poverty or debt, you were living a high life on the proceeds and a high degree of trust and responsibility placed in you. This thieving went on over a long period of time for what was a wholly selfish lifestyle.’
In a statement, Mr Alfonso said: ‘This theft shook our business. The sheer amount and volume that had been moved around by Smith was incredibly shocking.
‘I previously regarded Smith as a friend, not just a work colleague and I am appalled by the lack of integrity and respect shown – and I still cannot fathom the level of dishonesty he showed in his actions. I personally was left in tears, when I found out as I trusted George.
‘I actually broke down interviewing him when he admitted his guilt. He had supported me on charity events and he could clearly see he had upset me.
‘He also asked me to take him home and explain the thefts to his mother and brother and I had to break the news to them that George had been caught stealing. His mum was distraught at the time.’
At Manchester Crown Court, Smith, of Winnington, Northwich, admitted theft by employee and was jailed for 21 months
Mr Alfonso added: ‘As with all processes in companies, there are systems in place to ensure theft does not happen.
‘However a small number of staff take it upon themselves and abuse the position given to them, to not only steal from their employer but their colleagues they work with, day in and day out.
‘This then had a ripple effect on every single employee – trust was well and truly broken and as such we as a business had to restrict the access of our employees to certain systems, in an effort to ensure the same did not happen again. This is at odds with the way this business is run as it pushes out an environment of distrust on the many innocent people we have working for the business.
‘This had an impact on every employee, as we had to look to protect our interests and as such had to limit monetary bonuses to everyone.
‘As the financial director, I have found myself becoming an ad-hoc detective since this incident. This has caused me undue stress.
‘Smith, when he was dismissed, stated that he had stolen the items to pay for a drug and sex worker habit he had fallen into following the breakdown of his marriage.
‘I was going through my own break up at the time and found Smith’s actions to be appalling, that he had decided to be deceitful and dishonest to those that had supported him through his times of hardship.’
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