Leeds company director jailed over £18,000 swindle

A court heard Paul Carver, 31, abused the trust placed in him as operations director at Pudsey-based commercial washing machine firm JTM Services.

Carver misused the company’s credit cards and treated himself to 19 hotel stays which he was not entitled to, often making bookings under a false name.

He also took advantage of his position by ordering mobile phones and drills which he failed to pass on to staff and instead sold them and pocketed the cash.

Carver also gave his boss a sob story in which he claimed he needed an emergency loan for £5,000 as his relationship with his partner was breaking down. Carver claimed he had a savings fund which was due to mature so he could pay back the money. He then flew to Las Vegas for a luxury weekend.

Carver, of Terry Road, Bradford, pleaded guilty to three offences of fraud and one theft.

Leeds Crown Court heard it was still a “mystery” why Carver had committed the offences as he had a £40,000 a year salary and no money problems or issues with drink, drugs or gambling.

Jailing Carver, judge Geoffrey Marson, QC, said: “You had no need for the money. You were not hard up and you tell others you had no gambling habits, no addictions - nothing. I can only conclude therefore that this was done for no other reason than greed.

“The day you got the £5,000 you went to Manchester Airport and flew out to Las Vegas for a weekend. That amounts to a period of high living.”