Jail For Crooked Cambs Bookkeeper

A bookkeeper who pocketed more than £25,000 of a company’s money, which he should have paid in tax to HMRC, has been jailed.

Gerald Baldock, 68, had been working for a building company in St Ives for several years as the bookkeeper, managing the company accounts and finances.

The owner of the company had no reason to believe that Baldock was doing anything untoward. He would request an amount to be transferred to him each month so that he could pay the tax owed by the company.

However, in April 2019 the victim received a letter from HMRC to say he owed a substantial amount in tax. He phoned them up and discovered that although some money had been paid, it was considerably less than he thought.

Concerned by this, the victim hired another accounting company to look at the books. They discovered that almost every payment made to HMRC was less than what the victim had transferred to Baldock.

The new accountants were able to produce a spreadsheet showing how much the victim had paid Baldock and how much had been paid to HMRC. They uncovered a difference of more than £25,000.

During police interview, Baldock, of Lancaster Drive, St Ives, was unable to give an explanation for the discrepancy and claimed he had no idea where the money had gone.

He later pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and was sentenced to nine months in prison at Cambridge Crown Court.

Detective Constable Josh Mills, who investigated, said: "Baldock deceived and defrauded his employer out of tens of thousands of pounds while in a position of trust within the company.

"I am glad justice has been done today for everyone who is working hard to make the business a success.”