Diss man
and former Thetford MD jailed for 32 months
By STAFF
REPORTER
Friday, May 4, 2012
9:28 AM
A trusted director of a Norfolk
waste business who admitted systematically stealing from the company was
jailed for 32 months yesterday.
Paul Betts, of Church Lane, Hepworth, near Diss, has agreed to pay at least £110,000 in compensation
to his former employer, Enviro-Waste in Thetford, which had to make
almost a quarter of its workforce redundant because of his actions.
Yesterday the former managing
director, who admitted four counts of fraud by abuse of trust and four
of theft, was told he would serve half of a 32-month jail sentence.
Judge Alastair Darroch told him:
“Over a long period of very many months you carried out a number of
frauds, the sole motive being greed.”
Betts worked as a manager and a
director of Thetford-based Enviro-Waste, and was also allowed to run his
own business, PB Waste Management, providing there was no conflict of
interests with his employer, Norwich Crown Court was told.
But the 40-year-old used it as
an opportunity to steal from the company, fraudulently invoicing them
for more than £20,000 worth of building work which was carried out at
his home in Diss.
He also syphoned off £32,791 in
payments which should have gone to Enviro-Waste for spreading paper
sludge.
More money was stolen by
charging a fraudulent consultancy fee,
syphoning money from a
company involved in waste food removal, and selling
off equipment belonging to Enviro-Waste.
William Carter, prosecuting,
said: “Betts was acting dishonestly. His position required him to
safeguard his employers’ interests and he was doing the opposite.”
He said the then-owner was
forced to sell the business at a much lower price than he felt he would
have got and since then the company had
continued under new management.
Richard Wood, representing
Betts, said his client was an “energetic” businessman who had
“regrettably and rather seriously lost his way
He added: “He’s a family man. He
would find a period of imprisonment a very difficult process indeed.”
Speaking after the case, the new
managing director of Enviro-Waste said the business had been left having
to rebuild its reputation and make the difficult decision to let go 10
of its 47 staff.
Sean O’Connell, who was put in
place in November 2010 following Betts’ suspension, said Betts’ fraud
had had a “substantial impact”.
He added: “We want to make this
the best and biggest business of its type in East Anglia and slowly and
surely we’re getting our reputation back.
“We have had to make a few
changes but we’re heading in the right direction.
“If it hadn’t happened, I
wouldn’t be here but I don’t think the company deserved it because the
staff here work really hard and they didn’t deserve their efforts going
to line this man’s pockets.
“It’s nice to see the green
shoots of recovery showing.”
The director is now hoping to
recruit two new drivers, with the potential for five more, dependent on
new contracts being won.
Speaking after the case,
Roger
Clark, former company director for Enviro-Waste,
said: “Paul Betts totally abused his position of trust and
responsibility for solely financial reason with no regard for the
consequences of his actions on the company or its employees whose jobs
he put at grave risk.
“I thank the police and court
for finally bringing Paul Betts to justice.”
http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/diss_man_and_former_thetford_md_jailed_for_32_months_1_1368404
