Telford worker 'like family' abused firm's trust by buying things with company credit card

Beniamino Sacco, from Telford, bought items such as a £65 Windows 8 operating system, bluetooth speaker and a GoPro camera, despite not having permission from his employers PJB Midlands, Wolverhampton Magistrates Court was told.

Sacco also ordered a new iPad Air for an employee, but gave him an older model instead, with CCTV footage showing Sacco had "secreted the iPad Air within his clothing".

The complainants also claimed he had replaced the memory in some of the computers with a smaller capacity, the court heard, and they believed he had sold the larger drives for his own benefit. They also say he took data and they were unable to access information they needed.

A co-director at the company has claimed as a result of Sacco's actions they lost a contract, the court was told.

Sacco, of Cadman Drive in Priorslee, had been hired by the Wolverhampton company in 2013, having worked with the family business as an IT contractor for more than a decade before that.

Mrs Val Hart, prosecuting, said in his role as operations manager, the 52-year-old had access to the company credit card and PayPal accounts.

Mrs Hart told the court Debbie Bleakley, a co-director, claimed as a result of Sacco's actions they lost a contract worth £59,000.

Mrs Bleakley's statement, read to the court, says: "I am hurt by what Ben has done. He was treated like a family member. I have lost a lot of time off work trying to sort the problem out, and it has caused my husband ill health.

"I wish he would have come to me if he was having financial difficulties. I am at a loss as to why he would do this."

Sacco pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud by abuse of position between October 2013 and December 2014. Mr Dean Easthope, for Sacco, said a lot of what had been said was speculation with no tangible proof. He said: "We have heard about memory being wiped and data. He is not charged with that at all. If he were wiping data, that is a serious offence. The contract of £59,000, that is mere speculation. There are five directors and he wasn't negotiating contracts."

Mr Easthope said Sacco felt he had done a lot for the company over the years, including working for free at times, and had also loaned the company £5,000 of his own money in 2013 so they could pay staff and bills.

Sacco admitted he made a "few really stupid mistakes", Mr Easthope said, but he felt he was being taken for granted and other staff were getting more than he was. The Black Country Adult Panel, chaired by Arthur Wheldon, sentenced Sacco to 16 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and 240 hours of unpaid work. He also has to pay £960 compensation.