A man has been jailed for fraud after pleading guilty to stealing over £188,000 from his employer

David Gowans, aged 53, of Gadebridge Point, Hemel Hempstead, stole the money from the London-based company where he worked as an accountant, over a period of four years, in order to fund a lavish lifestyle and luxury holidays.

Gowans appeared at St Albans Crown Court on Tuesday 10 November where he pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

Detective Inspector Rob Burns, of Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Serious Fraud and Cyber Unit, said: “Gowans used his trusted position within the company to steal from his employer, using bogus invoices to hide the fact that he was re-directing company funds into his own bank accounts. Between 2013 and 2017 he transferred numerous payments of a few thousand pounds disguised as payments to suppliers.

“After months of meticulous investigation, we were able to gather enough evidence to build a case against Gowans. Our investigators have done a great job and are now attempting to recover whatever funds have not been spent through the Proceeds of Crime Act, by seizing assets belonging to the offender. The sentence handed out reflects the scale of the fraud and the impact his actions had on the company and its employees.”