Nottinghamshire Live has reported that bus drivers at respected operator Nottingham City Transport (NCT) have been left feeling ‘cheated’ after their social fund was emptied by a ‘fraudster.’ Former driver Robert Crookes reportedly helped himself to more than £14,800 from the NCT Social Society when he was chairman.
Employees pay 30 pence per week from their wages into the society, which is run by employees, to pay for social events throughout the year. The former society chairman is reported to have transferred the money to his savings account to solve his own financial crises, and used pay day loans as his accounts ran dry every month and he went into overdraft.
Previously said to have been of good character with no previous convictions, Robert was employed by NCT since 2003 and had been chairman of the fund since 2014. He pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and lost his job with the operator.
In his defence, his lawyer insisted he was not dishonest from the outset, but found himself in a financial mess he could not disentangle. It was said that the fraud was exposed when he became aware the accounts would not pass close scrutiny and delayed and avoided giving anyone else in the society access to the accounts. A colleague gained access to the accounts in his office as suspicion grew and was able to uncover the fraud.
Robert was handed an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, taking into account the delay since the offence and the fact he had started to repay the cash. The judge ordered that he pay the remaining balance of £3,316 to NCT in full within the next 28 days.
After the hearing, Anthony Carver-Smith, NCT Head of Marketing said: “The Social Society supports leisure, entertainment and activities for our colleagues to enjoy and relax outside of their work, such as the annual Christmas Party and family day trips by coach. The sentence and Mr Crookes repaying the final monies owed back to the Society brings this matter to a satisfactory close and will allow us to organise further activities for his former colleagues, who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic.”
