Burnley accountant spent £250k of work's money on prostitutes

Darren Parker, 43, started working for a company called Stortec Engineering Ltd in 2018 and almost immediately began a “catastrophic fall” from grace as he started to transfer and withdraw money from the company into his own accounts, to the tune of £255,304.84.

Preston Crown Court heard how Parker, of Barley Grove, Burnley, made bank transfers between March 15, 2018, and June 16, 2020, amounting to £181,596.83.

He also withdrew £38,592.11 from Stortec’s bank between April 20, 2018, and August 14, 2020, and carried out card transactions between June 14, 2018, and August 20, 2020, amounting to £35,115.90.

The company has thanked Lancashire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service for their work securing a prosecution against Parker.

Darren Parker (Image: Lancs Police)

Recorder Carwyn Cox told the court: “You were employed as a financial controller for Stortec and then became the financial director and had control over all aspects of the company, and set yourself up as a superuser on the banking app of the company.

“A colleague became suspicious of your actions when you wouldn’t provide her with information and then during lockdown you were working from home which meant you were alone.

“In August 2020 your activity was discovered when you went on holiday as payments hadn’t been made and your colleague found some raised payments to yourself.

“She also found payments to Amazon, Argos and River Island, as well as payments to HM Revenue and Customs, and the company credit card was linked to your Amazon account.

“You also withdrew cash and used the company account for work on your home as well as for hotel stays, iPhones and laptops.

“On August 24 you attended a meeting with two of the directors and accepted you carried out fraudulent activity.

“You were arrested in October 2019 and appeared before magistrates on December 12, 2021, before pleading guilty to three counts of fraud in February 2022.”

As a result of Parker’s crimes, Stortec had to unpick its accounts and take out a loan as well as make several redundancies.

Recorder Cox continued: “Your explanation is that you suffered a breakdown, although you weren’t able to say whether that was work, or home or alcohol, and found yourself depressed.

“You found yourself in the company of prostitutes, but you were not seeking sexual gratification, only company.

“You wanted to be liked and then you started paying for hotels and used funds from the company after you had exhausted all your savings.

“Then those women began demanding goods, and homes in Spain to be purchased.

“You wanted to go to the police but you didn’t.

“This was a catastrophic fall for you. You left school at 16 and have worked in finance ever since and have been married for nine years.

"Since this offending you no longer work in finance and never will again.

“You attempted suicide but have been able to rebuild your relationship with your wife.

“You used this money to fund your lifestyle, to a total sum of just over £250,000. The impact on Stortec is considerable.”

Parker, who has no previous convictions, was jailed for three years.

A statement from Stortec following sentencing said: "The Directors of Stortec Engineering Ltd would like to thank Lancashire Police and the CPS for pursuing this fraud case.

"Parker was employed by us two months after our incorporation and started taking money within a matter of weeks.

"He had manipulated the bank and finance software to remove peer checking of payments, such that it took over two years for us to uncover the facts.

"We are content the sentence handed down is as severe as the sentencing guidelines allow, and justice has been served today.

"We would also like to thank our suppliers and client base for supporting us through these difficult times. £255,000 is a very significant amount of money to lose from a business of our size.

"It has taken a tremendous effort to uncover the extent of the fraud against us. It has been very difficult to manage cash and suppliers’ expectations with such a large hole in our finances.

"This could not have come at a worse time, as we uncovered this fraud in the middle of the COVID pandemic when business conditions were already extremely challenging for a start-up business operating as a Key Supplier to the water and renewable energy sectors.

"The disruption to our business from the theft and the extent of Mr. Parker’s covering deceptions cannot be underestimated. Unfortunately, it was necessary to make redundancies due to a financial position that could not be supported by fact once the extent of the thefts became clear.

"It is now apparent to us Parker is a proficient fraudster whose deception was sufficient to pass two external finance audits as well as the internal board. We are confident Lancashire businesses are much safer now he has been exposed and detained."