Latest news with #Proudfoot
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Business
- Scotsman
Gambling addict who embezzled £400,000 from Scottish estates jailed
A gambling addict who embezzled more than £400,000 from two historic Scots estates while working as a bookkeeper has been jailed for 32 months. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... David Proudfoot was employed with agricultural firm Andersons Northern Ltd when he stole the massive amount of cash by transferring funds into his own account over a 10 year period. Proudfoot, 48, had responsibilities for managing tax affairs and VAT returns for clients including the Bemesyde Estate in the Scottish Borders and the Auchlyne Estate in Perthshire. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The crooked finance worker covered up the scam by producing fake HMRC tax references and invoices and spent the 'overwhelming majority' of the cash on his out of control gambling addiction. Proudfoot pleaded guilty to embezzling £439,500 while employed with Andersons Northern Ltd, Station Road, Musselburgh, East Lothian, between January 2012 and August 2022 when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month. He returned to the dock for sentencing on Friday where a sheriff described his offending as 'a significant breach of trust over a prolonged period'. Alexander Lawrie Sheriff Julius Komorowski said: 'You pleaded guilty to embezzling over an extended period the sum of £439,500 from your employer while acting as a bookkeeper. You stole the money, at least in the most part, to fund a gambling addiction. It was a sustained and systemic period of theft.' Sheriff Komorowski acknowledged Proudfoot 'appears to be genuinely remorseful' but said he has no current assets and there is 'no prospect of any meaningful recovery of the money taken'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Proudfoot, from Penicuik, Midlothian, was sentenced to 32 months in custody. Solicitor Ellie Younger, defending, said her client had been gambling since attending secondary school and has recently been seeking help with the Gambling Aware organisation. Ms Younger said: 'It is fair to say Mr Proudfoot's gambling got out of control. He is not making excuses and recognises how destructive this addiction has become. 'Mr Proudfoot is remorseful for the harm caused and is committed to making amends. He has expressed shame at his offending.' The court heard the funds taken from both estates should be refunded to the owners through the Financial Ombudsman now the criminal proceedings have concluded. Previously the court was told Proudfoot was employed as a bookkeeper with Andersons Northern Ltd who provide services to farming and non-farming businesses including financial planning, farm business administration and IT and software design. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Prosecutor Ruaridh Allison said the firm has around 150 clients including the Bemesyde Estate in the Scottish Borders and the Auchlyne Estate in Perthshire. Bemesyde Estate is owned by Earl Haig of Bemesyde but is largely run by his wife Lady Jane Haig while the Auchlyne Estate is owned by sole trader Emma Paterson. Mr Allison said: 'The offence came to light in August 2022 when the accountants of the Bemesyde Estate identified a VAT anomaly dating back to November 2021. The anomaly was £20,000 which was sufficient for an internal investigation to be met.' The investigation uncovered the large scale scam involving numerous financial transactions being paid into Proudfoot's own bank account and the police were contacted. Mr Allison said 'over 200 payments disguised as payments for invoices' totalling £108,922.45 were made from the Bemesyde Estate account to Proudfoot between May 2012 and July 2022. The court heard the missing funds went unnoticed as estate bosses had previously allowed Proudfoot to buy products on their behalf and he would be later reimbursed. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The fiscal said further payments amounting to more than £115,000 had also been made into Proudfoot's account under the reference of HMRC as he handled payments for two estate employees. The police investigation also found the finance worker had embezzled more than £200,000 from the Auchlyne Estate between 2014 and 2022. The court heard yesterday that Proudfoot had spent around £350,000 with the online gambling site Bet 365 and a further £163,000 with Betfair and Paddy Power.
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Daily Record
Gambling addict who embezzled more than £400,000 from historic Scots estates jailed
Crooked David Proudfoot covered up the scam by producing fake HMRC tax references and invoices and spent the "overwhelming majority" of the cash gambling. A gambling addict who embezzled more than £400,000 from two historic Scots estates while working as a bookkeeper has been jailed for 32 months. David Proudfoot was employed with agricultural firm Andersons Northern Ltd when he stole the massive amount of cash by transferring funds into his own account over a 10 year period. Proudfoot, 48, had responsibilities for managing tax affairs and VAT returns for clients including the Bemersyde Estate in the Scottish Borders and the Auchlyne Estate in Perthshire. The crooked finance worker covered up the scam by producing fake HMRC tax references and invoices and spent the "overwhelming majority" of the cash on his out of control gambling addiction. Proudfoot pleaded guilty to embezzling £439,500 while employed with Andersons Northern Ltd, Station Road, Musselburgh, East Lothian, between January 2012 and August 2022 when appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month. He returned to the dock for sentencing on Friday where a sheriff described his offending as "a significant breach of trust over a prolonged period". Sheriff Julius Komorowski said: "You pleaded guilty to embezzling over an extended period the sum of £439,500 from your employer while acting as a bookkeeper. "You stole the money, at least in the most part, to fund a gambling addiction. "It was a sustained and systemic period of theft." Sheriff Komorowski acknowledged Proudfoot "appears to be genuinely remorseful" but said he has no current assets and there is "no prospect of any meaningful recovery of the money taken". Proudfoot, from Penicuik, Midlothian, was sentenced to 32 months in custody. Solicitor Ellie Younger, defending, said her client had been gambling since attending secondary school and has recently been seeking help with the Gambling Aware organisation. Ms Younger said: "It is fair to say Mr Proudfoot's gambling got out of control. He is not making excuses and recognises how destructive this addiction has become. "Mr Proudfoot is remorseful for the harm caused and is committed to making amends. He has expressed shame at his offending." The court heard the funds taken from both estates should be refunded to the owners through the Financial Ombudsman now the criminal proceedings have concluded. Previously the court was told Proudfoot was employed as a bookkeeper with Andersons Northern Ltd who provide services to farming and non-farming businesses including financial planning, farm business administration and IT and software design. Prosecutor Ruaridh Allison said the firm has around 150 clients including the Bemersyde Estate in the Scottish Borders and the Auchlyne Estate in Perthshire. Bemersyde Estate is owned by Earl Haig of Bemersyde but is largely run by his wife Lady Jane Haig while the Auchlyne Estate is owned by sole trader Emma Paterson. Mr Allison said: "The offence came to light in August 2022 when the accountants of the Bemersyde Estate identified a VAT anomaly dating back to November 2021. "The anomaly was £20,000 which was sufficient for an internal investigation to be met." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The investigation uncovered the large scale scam involving numerous financial transactions being paid into Proudfoot's own bank account and the police were contacted. Mr Allison said "over 200 payments disguised as payments for invoices" totalling £108,922.45 were made from the Bemersyde Estate account to Proudfoot between May 2012 and July 2022. The court heard the missing funds went unnoticed as estate bosses had previously allowed Proudfoot to buy products on their behalf and he would be later reimbursed. The fiscal said further payments amounting to more than £115,000 had also been made into Proudfoot's account under the reference of HMRC as he handled payments for two estate employees. The police investigation also found the finance worker had embezzled more than £200,000 from the Auchlyne Estate between 2014 and 2022. The court heard yesterday that Proudfoot had spent around £350,000 with the online gambling site Bet 365 and a further £163,000 with Betfair and Paddy Power.
Edinburgh Reporter
3 days ago
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Edinburgh Sheriff Court news – Finance worker admits embezzlement
A finance worker embezzled more than £400,000 to feed his out of control gambling habit while he was employed at an agricultural consultancy firm. David Proudfoot was employed as a bookkeeper with Andersons Northern Ltd when he began transferring huge sums of cash from the accounts of two historic Scots estates into his own. Proudfoot managed to cover up his deceit by producing fake invoices and using bogus HMRC tax references while working with the company between 2012 and 2022. Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told the 48-year-old had spent 'the overwhelming majority' of the stolen cash to fund his gambling habit with online sites including Betfair and Bet 365. Proudfoot pleaded guilty to embezzling £439,500 while employed with Andersons Northern Ltd, Station Road, Musselburgh, East Lothian, when appeared at the capital court on Tuesday. (CORR) Andersons Northern Ltd provides services to farming and non-farming businesses including financial planning, farm business administration and IT and software design. Prosecutor Ruaridh Allison told the court the agricultural firm has around 150 clients including the Bemesyde Estate in the Scottish Borders and the Auchlyne Estate in Perthshire. Mr Allison said the Bemesyde Estate was owned by Earl Haig of Bemesyde but was largely run by his wife Lady Jane Haig while the Auchlyne Estate was owned by sole trader Emma Paterson. The court was told Proudfoot, of Penicuik, Midlothian, had responsibilities for 'managing tax affairs and VAT returns for some of the client estates' and the scam was uncovered in 2022. The fiscal depute said: 'The offence came to light in August 2022 when the accountants of the Bemesyde Estate identified a VAT anomaly dating back to November 2021. 'The anomaly was £20,000 which was sufficient for an internal investigation to be met.' Mr Allison said the accountancy firm contacted Andersons Northern Ltd and Proudfoot said he would investigate the anomaly but had subsequently 'failed to do so'. A director of Andersons Northern then conducted his own investigation into the situation and discovered financial transactions were being paid into Proudfoot's personal bank account. A larger review of all the accounts being managed by the bookkeeper was conducted and further payments from both estates were discovered and the police were contacted. Mr Allison said a police investigation found 'over 200 payments disguised as payments for invoices' totalling £108,922.45 were made from the Bemesyde Estate account to Proudfoot between May 2012 and July 2022. The court heard the missing funds went unnoticed as estate bosses had previously allowed Proudfoot to buy products on their behalf and he would be later reimbursed. The fiscal said further payments amounting to more than £115,000 had also been made into Proudfoot's account under the reference of HMRC as he handled payments for two estate employees. The police investigation uncovered a similar scam involving the Auchlyne Estate where Proudfoot had managed to embezzle more than £200,000 between 2014 and 2022. Mr Allison said: 'Tax was being legitimately paid to HMRC by the accused but additional payments had been set and disguised as legitimate payments. 'The police then reviewed the accused's own bank statements in an effort to see where the money had been spent and the overwhelming majority appears to have been spent on gambling. 'They identified the accused has accounts with both Bet 365 and Betfair and payments made to those accounts totals hundreds of thousands of pounds.' Proudfoot was arrested in June 2023 and was said to have given officers 'a full, frank and detailed account of his embezzlement' and had explained the methods he had used to take the money. Sheriff Julius Komorowski granted Proudfoot bail and deferred sentence for the preparation of social work reports to next month. David Proudfoot outside Edinburgh Sheriff Court PHOTO Alexander Lawrie Like this: Like Related
Scoop
5 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Tariff Uncertainty Prompts NZ Agricultural Businesses To Look For New Markets
Article – RNZ New Zealand agriculture can no longer relay on its usual international Zealand agriculture can no longer relay on its usual international customers, and needs to look for new markets, a new report says. The report from business consultancy KPMG on Agribusiness Agenda, has tapped local leaders in various parts of the country's agricultural sector for their views on where the industry needs to go. KMPG spokesperson Ian Proudfoot said tariff uncertainty was spurring people into action. 'They're thinking about where else can we sell products, what do we need to make those products look like, and what attributes do they need to have for them to be sold effectively,' Proudfoot said. One of the highest priorities identified by the report was the signing of high quality trade agreements with new trading partners. India is high on the list along with South East Asian markets such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. Biosecurity remained the top of the must do list, along with post-pandemic supply chain resilience. Proudfoot said there was support to maintain migration settings, but also a need to grow a skilled local labour force, rather than relying on migrant labour, and a training system to deliver it. He said sustainability was not just important but non-negotiable. 'The overriding message is that we can't change our course on sustainability. The main reason is commercial. We're selling to a relatively small group of customers around the world who are servicing a high value market. Those commitments are really important to them.'
Scoop
5 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Tariff Uncertainty Prompts NZ Agricultural Businesses To Look For New Markets
New Zealand agriculture can no longer relay on its usual international customers, and needs to look for new markets, a new report says. The report from business consultancy KPMG on Agribusiness Agenda, has tapped local leaders in various parts of the country's agricultural sector for their views on where the industry needs to go. KMPG spokesperson Ian Proudfoot said tariff uncertainty was spurring people into action. "They're thinking about where else can we sell products, what do we need to make those products look like, and what attributes do they need to have for them to be sold effectively," Proudfoot said. One of the highest priorities identified by the report was the signing of high quality trade agreements with new trading partners. India is high on the list along with South East Asian markets such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. Biosecurity remained the top of the must do list, along with post-pandemic supply chain resilience. Proudfoot said there was support to maintain migration settings, but also a need to grow a skilled local labour force, rather than relying on migrant labour, and a training system to deliver it. He said sustainability was not just important but non-negotiable. "The overriding message is that we can't change our course on sustainability. The main reason is commercial. We're selling to a relatively small group of customers around the world who are servicing a high value market. Those commitments are really important to them."
