News JVTech This man stole €200,000 from his boss and had his colleagues fired in his place. A real parallel market for IT products within a company
Published on 14/12/2023 at 08:55
Share :
An employee of a company specializing in IT was the victim of repeated theft by one of his employees, leading to the dismissal of around ten innocent employees. Fortunately, things didn’t go as planned for this seasoned thief…
Computer theft estimated at €200,000 for a British company
Matthew Hudson, former production manager at Chillblast, was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for his participation in a vast electronics theft ring within the company. This case, spanning a period of six yearsinvolved sophisticated inventory manipulation leading to layoffs at the PC company.
Hudson, who had responsibility for managing inventory and investigating financial irregularities, used his position to orchestrate the theft of Chillblast’s assets. Between 2013 and 2019, he deliberately removed high-ticket items such as laptops, desktops, IT equipment and inventory system components. These items were then given to accomplices who sold them on online platforms such as eBay and Gumtree.
The scale of the theft was revealed to be d‘an estimated value of €200,000. Police investigations identified withdrawals of €58,000 from the bank account of an accomplice, Daniel Key. These funds came from sales of the stolen products, with at least €108,000 processed through Key’s account. The cash withdrawals were also intended for Hudson, thus revealing the financial complicity between the two individuals.
The fraud came to light when Chillblast employees spotted specific items from the company for sale on Gumtree. Alerted by this discovery, the general manager, Benedict Miles, carried out an in-depth investigation. He discovered that the stolen products were being sold at discounted prices on online platforms, undermining the company’s profitability.
A well-oiled financial scheme causing 10 layoffs in the company
What makes this fraud particularly evil is that Hudson was involved in the process of firing 10 of his colleagues at Chillblast. Not only had he embezzled company assets, but he also proposed a list of layoffsthus worsening the consequences for people who had done nothing wrong…
The modus operandi of Hudson and his co-conspirators involved skillful manipulation of the company’s inventory system. By adjusting stock levels, declaring items returned by customers as credited, they were able to steal items without arousing suspicion. This sophistication in stock manipulation notably contributed to the prolonged success of their criminal enterprise.
Following the discovery of the scam, Hudson was suspended during the investigation. In a further cover-up attempt, he offered to resign without prejudice and reimburse Chillblast. However, this proposal was rejected by the company which sought justice for the fraudulent actions of its former employee.
During the trial, the judge highlighted Hudson’s attempt to conceal the true extent of his dishonesty and also noted the contempt Hudson showed towards Chillblast by abusing the trust the latter had placed in him.
The verdict sentenced Hudson to three years and eight months in prison, with half of the sentence to be served in custody and the rest on parole. The case of Daniel Key, one of the accomplices, was adjourned to obtain further information about his past before sentencing. The court stressed the need to provide justice to the victims and to deter others from committing similar acts.
2023-12-14 11:22:57
#man #stole #boss #colleagues #fired #place #real #parallel #market #products #company
