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Burnley man stole £5k from his employer

1:15pm Tuesday 7th June 2011 in Rosegrove By Wendy Barlow, Court reporter

AN electrical firm’s branch manager stole about £5,000 off his bosses, including charity cash meant for seriously-ill children, a court heard.

Matthew James Taylor, 34, who claimed he was hard-up after a messy divorce, pocketed the £240 proceeds of a raffle, held to raise funds for Derian House Children’s Hospice.

It was one of a catalogue of thefts committed during a four month campaign of dishonesty targeting LED Electrical Ltd, which has premises in Nelson and Haslingden.

Burnley Magistrates were told how Taylor, said to have initially tried to blame another worker for the missing money, owned up to pocketing the raffle cash when he was confronted over the crimes.

He then asked that police not be involved.

He was suspended, escorted off the premises, sacked and then arrested on November 22.

The defendant, who is now working for electrical company Quest and is about to become a father, admitted eight counts of theft and one of false accounting, between June and October, last year.

Taylor, of Lowerhouse Lane, Burnley, was given 18 weeks in jail, suspended for a year, with 160 hours’ unpaid work. He must pay £1,200 compensation.

Enza Geldard, prosecuting, said Taylor started working for LED in November 2009 and was promoted to branch manager at Haslingden, last year.

Bosses later became suspicious over financial discrepancies.

Taylor had no previous convictions.

David Lawson, for Taylor, said he was thoroughly ashamed and embarrassed by what he had done and his family were of the same mind.

He recognised he had to be punished.

Mr Lawson said Taylor had started a new relationship and a child was expected on July 10.

His partner had not been fully aware of the extent of the financial problems.

Comments(15)

useyourhead says...
1:20pm Tue 7 Jun 11

why does he only pay back a quarter of what he stole?

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madari says...
1:50pm Tue 7 Jun 11

useyourhead wrote:
why does he only pay back a quarter of what he stole?
Madari the snake charmer says:

Because he is still` hard up`,or should it be` hard done to`?

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grover2010 says...
3:43pm Tue 7 Jun 11

i know of this person just goes to show how some people will stoop so low stealing from an hospice for sick children i knew he was a liar and has for the excuse of a messy divorce he has been remarried for over 3 years after winning the 2BR wedding of the year that was all paid for what a joke !! and now he has got a new job with quest electrical he must not of disclosed his dishonesty at his interview

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Flawless2710 says...
5:05pm Tue 7 Jun 11

I can only presume that the trip he took to New York last year was all funded by the above dishonesty to his employer!!!!!!!!! What a Joke !!!!
I also wonder what the respectable people of his community will think of his behaviour? He portrays himself as such a figure of the community..... I'm sure they won't take kindly to having such a low life living on their doorstep.
This type of crime is a low as you can go. Charities find it hard enough to raise money in this day and age..... Not to mention how his employer must be feeling after putting him in such a position of trust. I feel for them !!!!
In my opinion they should have made an example out of this type of behaviour !!!!!! Not just a slap on the wrists....

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grover2010 says...
5:48pm Tue 7 Jun 11

flawless well said i cant believe i have bought raffle tickets to fund him and his wife for there holidays scum is the only word for them iif this was me i would be selling up and going along way from this community

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clarets02 says...
6:23pm Tue 7 Jun 11

well said flawless, in my opinion he should of been locked up and made to serve his prison sentance. i wonder what his family think of him now! he comes across all nice but what a conman he is, i wouldnt believe a word that he says. if quest elec did know about what he did i wonder what extent he told them, probably more lies, but surely now they know all about him they would sack him!! this would put quest elec's name in bad light and must have a knock on to their business, let alone trusting him. id check his pockets for tea and sugar at the end of the working day. i got told from a reliable source he was thieving from his previous employers eyre and elliston and thats why he was moved out of the burnley branch, and since left to work elsewhere coz they were onto him.

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grover2010 says...
6:44pm Tue 7 Jun 11

MATT YOU ARE A **** for stealing off sick children

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clarets02 says...
7:52pm Tue 7 Jun 11

i dont agree with the comments about his family, they have nothing to do with this incident so should be left out of it. i just wanted to comment to say how i feel about this case and he should be made aware of how his actions should fit the penalty they deserve.

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BIGGLESTOE says...
11:34pm Tue 7 Jun 11

If this man has a conscience, he will offer to and pay back the Derian house children's Hospice money, and should do with an accountable record (not on his say so!). If he fails, then he deserves all the grief that his actions have produced, going by all the above comments! There is a natural justice!

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The Whole Truth says...
12:02am Wed 8 Jun 11

I am disgusted.

People in Rosegrove, especially in the Railway Club saw this person as an upstanding citizen of the community, even though new to the area. It amazes me how quickly local opinion can turn against such a deceitful "man" for his unspeakable actions.
Apparently, Quest had been informed of his fraudulent activities, yet still turned a blind eye when employing him. How anyone can still put trust into this individual is beyond me and I for one would not give him an opportunity of a job.
As flawless stated, his jaunt to New York was funded by Derian House and his previous employers. How much would these children have loved to have had the opportunity (and the money) to go on holiday instead of this criminal.
As the report states, Taylor claims to have been "ashamed" and acted "out of desperation" when stealing this money. However, with the job of branch-manager at an established electrical company, I very much doubt the legitimacy of his claims.
There is no exaggeration when I say that the close-knit community of Rosegrove now see this individual as an infinite liar and cheat, whose greed shattered the reputation he once had.
There are many people in Rosegrove who have not been as fortunate as this person to have a job like him, yet have resorted to hard work and not crime. Shameful.

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mys says...
12:18pm Wed 8 Jun 11

Thieving get,he should be made to pay every penny back,we all have difficulties in our lifes at some point but we dont stoop that low to steal and decieve of people let alone a charity.

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claret mad 2107 says...
1:05pm Wed 8 Jun 11

5k my a**e. I heard it was double. This poor excuse of a man has lied and decieved not just this company but also Eyre and Elliston. He spent around nine months working for LED electrical whereas he worked for them for many more years." i wonder how much you stole off them Matt "!!!!. None of what he did was out of desperation the lengths he went to try and cover up what he did was panned from the word go. This man should have been given a custodial sentence and made to pay all the money back he has stolen with interest. Your an
embarassment to mankind not just your family.

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honesty best policy says...
1:28pm Wed 8 Jun 11

I work for LED and to put something right they say he had stole 5k I know this is approximately half the true figure there for he is double the snake that people believe him to be , why is it here in this country someone like this just gets to carry on with his life like nothing’s happened .
In Saudi they would make sure everyone knew he was a thief by removing his hand and in his case he would be minus two hands now because I have found out since he has been caught before for stealing but they only dismissed him.
By stealing from our company he stole from every member of staff and this affected our pockets directly .
He had a company car ,company phone , well paid got a bonus every quarter and still claims it was all due to his divorce , I can’t believe they could all stay in the court room with the amount of s**t that came out of his mouth .
I feel a lot stronger on this subject but unfortunately I’m not aloud print it .
All as I will say to finish off is what goes around comes around and dark alleys are dangerous.

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grover2010 says...
3:14pm Wed 8 Jun 11

you hard faced get matt how can you show your face on the streets of rosegrove you are not wanted in our community so why dont you take a long walk on a short pier you hard faced get !!!!

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Ronnietate says...
11:04pm Wed 8 Jun 11

In hard economic times like these with many good, honest hard workers on the dole, how the hell did he get another job?

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