Sarah Turnnidge & PA Media
BBC News, West of England
A serial fraudster, Andrew Maxted, has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for stealing close to £600,000 from his employer after lying about his previous conviction to secure a job. The 57-year-old, residing in Standish Gate near Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, misappropriated funds from the building company where he worked as an accountant to finance luxury cars and holidays.
His fraudulent activities came to light when forensic accountants were brought in following the voluntary liquidation of Building Solutions in 2017. Judge Ian Lawrie KC, the Recorder of Gloucester, characterized Maxted as a “thoroughly dishonest and deeply manipulative individual.”
The court heard that Maxted committed the offenses between October 2011 and October 2017, shortly after being appointed as accounts manager. Despite having served a three-year prison sentence in 1996 for a similar offense of conspiracy to defraud, he failed to disclose this prior conviction when employed through a recruitment agency .
