First offence until first time caught?

[AndyAudi]

Snippets

A worker has admitted embezzling more than £1m from Aberdeen City Council

Paterson's crimes took place over 17 years between November 2006 and September 2023.

Paterson had unsupervised authority to issue council tax refunds of up to £3,000

Defence solicitor advocate Iain Paterson told the court “his client was a first offender”

Not sure if there’s a connection between the Defendant & Defence having same name but seriously that must take some nerve to suggest leniency for a “1st offence” just cause he’d never been caught in all that time.

£1,087,000 over 17years at a maximum of £3k a time,is 362 times (& I’m quite sure most unclaimed refunds were not £3k)

Would a better defence have been saying he had an addiction!!

Now I’m just wondering if following the investigation if there’s going to have to be the double whammy for the council of having to give the refunds to the right people (or if they will just continue to wait & see if asked)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8vve153910o.a...

[mac96]

I would like to hope that his incompetent nanagers who facilitated the fraud by creating a system which made thefts so easy are being sacked or at least disciplined.
Probably not though.

[Killer2005]

mac96 said:

I would like to hope that his incompetent nanagers who facilitated the fraud by creating a system which made thefts so easy are being sacked or at least disciplined.
Probably not though.

It's a local council, so I'm sure a promotion of some sort would be in order.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Defence Solicitor always put forward a defence.

Some of them, you wonder how they keep a straight face.

Recently there was a murder and they described the defendant as previously of good character.

Is that appropriate?

[mac96]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Defence Solicitor always put forward a defence.

Some of them, you wonder how they keep a straight face.

Recently there was a murder and they described the defendant as previously of good character.

Is that appropriate?

Might at least be true, unlike when pleading guilty to 300+ previous offences!

[Pica-Pica]

mac96 said:

I would like to hope that his incompetent nanagers who facilitated the fraud by creating a system which made thefts so easy are being sacked or at least disciplined.
Probably not though.

Why? Is honesty no longer trusted to individuals?

[mac96]

Pica-Pica said:

mac96 said:

I would like to hope that his incompetent nanagers who facilitated the fraud by creating a system which made thefts so easy are being sacked or at least disciplined.
Probably not though.

Why? Is honesty no longer trusted to individuals?

It is normal practice to have double sign off, at least in my industry.
And for a simple fraud to go unnoticed for 17 years implies defective systems.
If he was at it, I expect others will have been. Just not so stupid as to keep on until they were caught.

[The Gauge]

'We welcome any independent investigation, we will work closely with, and assist any such investigation, and lessons will be learnt to ensure nothing like this can ever happen again' etc etc blah blah