£625,000 fraudster jailed for three years
Reporter: Janice Barker
Date published: 13 September 2010
A RETIRED Army warrant officer has been jailed after stealing more than half a million pounds from his Chadderton employer to buy luxuries and treat his children.
Douglas Williams, who was awarded an MBE for services to his country, almost destroyed the family-run food packaging company Reynards, in Greengate, and threatened 95 jobs.
Williams (43), of no fixed address, admitted false accounting to the value of £627,587.01 and was sentenced to three years in prison at Minshull Street Crown Court, and was also disqualified from being a company director.
His son, David Williams (31), of Warrington, admitted 14 counts of possessing criminal property and using criminal property to the value of £63,082 and was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
Douglas’s daughter, Laura Yardley (28), also of Warrington, admitted two counts of possessing criminal property to the value £25,000 and was given an 18-month suspended sentence and ordered to undertake 250 hours’ unpaid work.
Confiscation proceedings are under way to recover assets from the family.
The sentences follow a three-year investigation into the fraud that was uncovered by the managing director of Reynard’s UK, Alan Reynard.
As financial director, Douglas Williams controlled the company’s money. He was paid a substantial salary as well as receiving other benefits and bonuses. His daughter was employed as his assistant.
Early in 2006, Mr Reynard put money into the business to assist with its cash flow. After approximately 12 months the situation had not improved and Mr Reynard began to examine his accounts. He quickly uncovered the deception and police were called.
The investigation revealed Douglas Williams had been stealing from the company from at least 2001 by transferring money into his bank, writing himself cheques or using company cheques to purchase luxury items. He also stole cash from the safe.
He covered his tracks with false accounts and pretended the company had purchased other items. His 141 fraudulent transactions ranged from £100 to £24,208.
Police found Williams had not only been providing for himself but also his son and daughter, giving them deposits for their homes, cars and paying cash into their accounts.
Mr Reynard, said: “I trusted Douglas 100 per cent and I treated him as one of the family. To this day I do not know when he began stealing. He almost destroyed my business, which may have caused 95 people to lose their jobs. Douglas was regarded by myself as a loyal member of staff who I trusted implicitly. I feel totally betrayed.”
