Former Shropshire businessman jailed in USA after stealing cash from firm

Santhosh Thomas, 51, who was the finance director of Ludlow publishing firm Archetype in the 1990s, moved to America at the turn of the millennium.

There he was accused of embezzling nearly 500,000 dollars (£320,329) between 2006 and 2007, but after pleading guilty to one count of theft in 2008, skipped bail and was not seen again until earlier this year.

Arrested in Houston, Texas, in April, Thomas appeared in DuPage County Circuit Court, Illinois, on Thursday, where he admitted admitted stealing almost 500,000 dollars from his employer Collaborative Learning, an educational software company.

He was sentenced on Monday to eight years for the original crime plus three for jumping bail.

In the UK he was previously jailed for a £220,000 fraud while working for Archetype, which was based on Ludlow's Sheet Road.

Thomas used his position as chief financial officer at Collaborative Learning to embezzle 471,000 dollars, with colleague Emmanuel Reyes pocketing 59,000 dollars, over an 11 month period.

He used a number of schemes including withdrawing money from Collaborative Learning's bank account, and writing cheques to himself and others, without authorisation. Thomas, and employees working at his direction, then falsified records to hide the thefts. He also made unauthorised use of the company's credit card – including to fund casino gambling trips to Las Vegas and the purchase of electronic goods – before being discovered by company officials, who contacted police.

Illinois state's attorney Robert B Berlin said: "Thanks to the perseverance of law enforcement, Mr Thomas' illegal activities have finally caught up with him. Today's sentencing sends a strong message that if you are found guilty of a crime in DuPage County, you will be held responsible."

Between 1992 and 1997 Thomas was also involved with Ludlow-based firms Eureka Mail Order Ltd and Akay Flavours and Aromatics (UK) Ltd.