Former London Philharmonic FD ‘facing jail’ over fraud
Cameron Poole ‘likely to be sent to jail’ after admitting fraud of £645,000
A former finance director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra faces
imprisonment after admitting to embezzling £645,000 from the company, the BBC
reports.
Cameron Poole, 36, forged signatures to steal the money for artwork, gifts,
jewellery and an extension on his house. Poole has since admitted fraud by abuse
of position and acquiring and using criminal property.
Lawyer Andrew Thomas, representing the London Festival Hall-based orchestra,
said that Poole used cheques and credit cards for the fraud, hiding it by making
false entries in the company’s computerised accounting system. The High Court
ordered Poole to pay the orchestra £2.3m in February this year.
Poole has been granted bail and is due to be sentenced on 28 September,
although Judge Deborah Taylor has said “the most likely outcome” is a custodial
sentence.
Commenting on the story, David Vine, CEO of expenses management supplier
GlobalExpense, said: “Some businesses still fail to accept and understand how
important it is to monitor their expenses even though there have been articles
about high-profile expenses fraud. The good news is that expenses fraud is now
becoming less acceptable.”