Ex KPMG exec jailed for fraud
A FORMER KPMG finance director who stole over £500,000 to fund his wife’s lavish lifestyle was yesterday sentenced to four years in jail.
Andrew Wetherall, 49, started to abuse the global accountancy firm’s expenses scheme in 2002 after his wife’s previous partner reduced maintenance payments.
Wetherall claims he was driven to crime by fears his wife’s £15,000-a-month shopping sprees would suffer, triggering another divorce.
London’s Southwark Court heard that Wetherall made expense claims for non-existent business trips – almost half of which were backed with false invoices – and instead used the funds to pay for cars, romantic holidays and expensive watches.
Last year a colleague became suspicious of the amount of air travel Wetherall was claiming for and raised the alarm.
By the time he was arrested, £545,620 was missing. Wetherall, who pleaded guilty to fraud and false accounting, has since repaid around £340,000. Frederick Ferguson, defending, told the court his client accepted what he had done was “immature and inappropriate”.
Judge Gregory Stone said the guilty plea had counted in his favour. He added: “The gravity of this case focuses on the breach of trust that was involved and the very large sums of money you defrauded.”