Category Archives: Civil Recovery

The Evening Standard reports that a Department for Education worker swiped £1.1 million meant for youth sports projects and used it to buy a luxury flat.

Edward Fowkes Chapman – jailed for over three years – set up two companies and authorised seven separate payments to them over a two-year period.

The Burton Mail reports that a young mother who hid stolen goods from a supermarket in her baby’s push chair has been criticised by a judge, and jailed.

Judge Jonathan Taaffe told Polish national Sandra Paczkowska that she was part of “an epidemic” of thieves and jailed her for 16 weeks.

The Telegraph carries a story of pensioners stealing £6,000 worth of magazines in year from a branch of high street chain WH Smith in Stirling.

It is reported that female thieves have been spotted on CCTV pinching magazines such as Take a Break, Chat and That’s Life, with men in their 60s and 70s being caught trying to conceal fly-fishing magazines and wrestling publications.

The Courier reports that two pensioners claimed they took shoplifting ‘day trips’ and were forced to steal as they didn’t have enough money to live off.

William Wilson and Davina Cowan stated that they struggled to live off their pensions and Wilson initially believed he could steal from shops if it was OK for celebrities to do so.

The Times & Star carried a story about Mark Vollers – the owner of the Lake District Coast Aquarium – who has issued a stark warning over employee fraud, after two members of his staff stole almost £130,000. Pamela Gradon, a manager at the aquarium, received a 32-month jail term for the theft of £117,000.

An article on the People Management website states that businesses in the private sector are collectively losing £12bn each year through payroll fraud.

The Annual Fraud Indicator 2016 report found that the biggest source of loss related to procurement – causing annual losses of £127bn.