Trusted staff member who stole £82,000 from his employer learns how much he has to pay back

A trusted staff member who stole £82,000 from his employer by falsifying invoices has been ordered to pay back £45,000. The theft left his boss feeling “anxious and stressful” with his actions having a massive impact on the business.

David Pollard, 38, of Sandfields, Port Talbot, was employed by Bridgend-based BFL Engineering Services for 11 years but during that time he was fleecing the company for thousands of pounds. The thief used the money to pay for flights from easyJet and items from PC World, Ikea, and JD Sports.

A court heard he used a number of methods to cover up his offending including falsifying invoices, disguising payments as legitimate business expenses, and changing security information on the company’s bank account. Director and owner of BFL Carl Clement employed his friend Pollard as an admin officer in 2011 but promoted him to office manager in 2014, which gave the defendant responsibility for the financial aspects of the business, the accounting software, and paying creditors. Prosecutor Sol Hartley said he was “put in a position of trust” by Mr Clement.

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The theft, which began in 2014, came to light in June 2021 when Pollard was having “personal issues” and was taking time off work. As a result he fell behind in his work and ad not completed a financial report. Mr Clement went to his office and saw a Post-it note which said: “Sort BFL Barclaycard”. This caused alarm bells for Mr Clement as the Barclaycard was only meant to be used for emergencies.

He approached Pollard who was unable to give an explanation so Mr Clement went directly to the card company and after some initial difficulty with security he was given 12 months of bank statements which exposed the extent of the theft. Mr Hartley said the total amount taken by the defendant was £82,747 including cash withdrawals of £34,500 alone.

Pollard, of Dalton Road, resigned from the business in July 2021 and stopped engaging with Mr Clement but when he was interviewed by police he accepted he was responsible for the theft. He claimed he was “treated badly” by Mr Clement and when he first used the cards he planned to pay the money back. He later pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment.

A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard Pollard benefited to the tune of £95,821 as a result of the theft but only has assets worth £45,397. Judge Jeremy Jenkins ordered the defendant to pay that sum within three months.

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