A former lettings manager who cheated his employer out of over £300,000 can only repay a fraction of what he stole.
Robert Parker, who is already in prison for his offence, must repay £70,682 within three months or serve another year.
The order was made last week at a Proceeds of Crime hearing at Cardiff Crown Court.
Parker, 28, stole the money from Nina Letting Agents, in Barry, south Wales, owned by Nina Chivers who had trusted him implicitly and gave him full access to the firm’s accounts.
Parker’s duties included rent collection, payments to landlords and taking cash to the bank. Such was his deceit that nothing was flagged by accountants.
It was only discovered when Mrs Chivers, worried by discrepancies in the accounts and who had gone on to call in a second set of accountants to investigate, checked her CCTV cameras.
She saw him letting himself into the office during a weekend and stealing cash which he stuffed into envelopes.
Parker used the money to fund his gambling habit and a lavish lifestyle, including holidays abroad.
He pleaded guilty to stealing £302,000 and was jailed in January for three years and two months.
The Proceeds of Crime hearing was told that Parker has around £70,000 left, split between two properties he owns and cash.
Judge Eleri Rees said Mrs Chivers would be “considerably out of pocket” and ruled that Parker must sell the houses.
After the hearing, Mrs Chivers told the local paper: “Ever since he was caught, I’ve had no apology, he’s shown no remorse or empathy at all.
“All we’ve seen is smugness from him. It was a complete breach of my trust.
“If he is sorry, he’s sorry only for the fact that he was caught.
“His systematic fraud was manipulative and he adapted it over the nine years he was taking money from us.
“It’s sickening to think how hard I worked to set up my business while he was keeping up his lavish lifestyle.”
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/robert-parker-nina-barry-court-16567243
Lettings manager jailed after stealing from employer who ‘trusted him like a son’
Whilst this is completely wrong, how can you not miss £300k from your bank account?
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Over 9 years is £30,000 odd a year. Much harder to spot I would guess ,even her accountants didn’t
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That’s still cash that would mostly be owed to landlords – how it was not spotted by the Financial Controller and / or the accountants at the end of the first financial year is amazing to me.
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Throw away they KEY!
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“Robert Parker… must repay £70,682 within three months or serve another year.”
Hmmm – decisions, decisions.
Some might think £70k NETT for a year’s porridge would be a no-brainer. Don’t be surprised if Mr Parker turns out to be one of them.
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Who can you trust nowadays. There seems to be a lack of integrity everywhere.
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I cannot imagine how any business owner can be so detached from their business so as not to notice £300,000 going missing; they do not deserve to be in business! I have staff that I fully trust but, I know exactly what’s going on in my bank and my accounts!
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Why would you trust an employee to look after your accounts? Much as I have a high regard for my guys and girls, there is a huge responsibility in looking after other peoples money and a great temptation to ‘borrow’ if one is having a hard time. I don’t stand up for thieves and Mr Parker should stay in prison until he has worked off every penny. I would feel completely betrayed if it had happened to me. But equally one must always put in checks and balances to ensure that the pennies and pounds don’t go missing.
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