Married dad stole £40k from his bosses and blew it on booze, drugs and prostitutes
manchestereveningnews.co.ukA branch manager for a renowned decorating supplies firm fleeced the company out of £40,000, flogging paint for cash and then pocketing the money for himself.
George Smith, 33, a married father, blew it on drugs, alcohol and prostitutes, a court heard. A £27,000-a-year manager at the Trafford Park branch of Bromborough Paints, Smith sold paint and wallpaper to decorators for cash and then fiddled the books to cover up his crime. READ MORE: 'He's dead now': Boy murdered 15-year-old then posted chilling aftermath videos He joined the firm in September 2016 and was 'in a senior position with a high degree of trust', prosecutor Rachel Widdicombe told Manchester Crown Court on Friday afternoon. "He was also expected to set a positive example to other members of the team," she said.
But his thieving came to light when the firm's fiance director and friend, Giuseppe Alfonso, spotted a discrepancy of £5,000 during an audit in May 2019.
He realised it had been created by an individual accounts log-in attributed to Smith. The 'adjustment' was dated January 2018, some 18 months after Smith had started working for Bromborough, now known as PaintWell.
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