Payroll chief stole £7,000 from hotel

A 61-YEAR-OLD payroll manager stole more than £7,000 from his bosses at Newquay's Hotel Victoria.

John Maddocks, of Mermaid Court, Alexandra Road, was given a suspended prison sentence and curfew by Bodmin magistrates.

He was also ordered to pay £2,400 towards compensation and warned that the hotel may seek to recover the rest.

Maddocks said he had taken the money to help a close friend who was in financial difficulty.

He admitted the theft committed between April 9, 2006 and January 1 this year when he appeared before the court on July 10.

Prosecutor Suzanne Nicholas said Maddocks had been cautioned in 1998 for stealing from customers while employed at a bank.

He had held a "substantial position of trust" at Hotel Victoria after being taken on in February 2006 and the stealing had begun almost immediately after he joined.

His main role was controlling the payroll for the large company which owns the hotel and other businesses in the Newquay area, including Berties, Red Square and Senor Dick's. This meant Maddocks was in charge of payments to all members of staff as well as to himself.

The offence came to light at the start of 2009, when, during a restructuring, a woman took over the payroll duties. Maddocks explained the processes to her but when she scrutinised the records she found overpayments and inaccuracies in his pay and that of two other people.

Between April 9, 2006 and December 28, 2008, Maddocks regularly overpaid himself holiday pay and administration payments to a total of £4,651 and further payments to two other male employees.

Interviewed by police, Maddocks admitted deliberately taking the money.

He said he had done it to help a close friend who was in financial difficulty. That person had since left the country said Miss Nicholas.

Chris Mitchell, mitigating, said that although the offence had been carried out over a three-year period it had involved a "relatively small" amount of money. Maddocks had co-operated with police, pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and was "extremely remorseful".

He apologised to the court for the inconvenience he had caused and was aware of the sentence he might receive.

A man in poor health, he was now unemployed and reliant on pension credits. He did, however, have the hope of a job.

Suspended

After considering a pre-sentence report, the magistrates imposed a four-month jail term, suspended for one year, with a four-month nightly curfew from 8pm to 6am except for a week at the end of July when he is due to have an operation.

He was told to pay the compensation at £100 per month for the next two years.

Speaking after the case, Tony Townsend, marketing manager for the Hotel Victoria, said: "John Maddocks was a trusted and respected member of staff and the family and management felt very disappointed and let down."