Etal pub is pushed to brink after £7,000 scam
Aug 2 2010 by Alistair Craig and Dave Black, The Journal
A POPULAR Northumberland village pub was left on the brink of closure after a trusted worker plundered £7,000 in a debit card scam, a court heard.
Jonathan Cleough had been a well regarded cleaner at the historic pub, the Black Bull in Etal, near Berwick, until November last year.
But the 30-year-old re-organised shifts at the inn – the only thatched pub in Northumberland – to engineer time alone so that he could complete fraudulent card transfers undisturbed.
Cleough, of Ilieston Farm, Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland, used the pub’s card payment machine to deposit a total of £6,750 into his own back account over several weeks.
The scam was finally discovered after Cleough’s own bank became suspicious of the large and regular increases that were appearing in his balance.
In a statement to Newcastle Crown Court, the Black Bull’s landlady Karen Hunter said it was touch and go whether the pub would remain open as a result of the crime.
Tom Moran, prosecuting, said that the business was now at breaking point after plunging into the red following the thefts. It has been forced to cut costs and make staff redundant as it seeks to balance the books.
He said: “This was a small business already struggling through the recession and this has resulted in pushing it into a substantial overdraft.
“Staff had to be laid off because of Mr Cleough’s actions and Karen Hunter’s partner had to work for nothing and continues to work for nothing.
“The offences were made possible when he asked if he could start the cleaning shifts earlier at 7am when nobody was around.”
Andrew Mark, defending, told the court that Cleough had been used as a pawn by others during the incident.
He said: “This was clearly somebody else’s idea and he was taken advantage of. This man has had learning difficulties throughout his childhood and he his horrified at what he has done.
“He bitterly regrets his part in this.”
The court heard that police were called when the scam came to light and Cleough was immediately sacked.
Judge Recorder Nolan spared Cleough a custodial sentence.
He told him: “You have admitted an offence of fraud which seriously affected the business which employed you losing them a total of almost £7,000.
“This was a sum the pub could ill afford to lose and which continues to cause it untold difficulties.
“This is your first appearance in court and I accept that you probably did not have the wit to organise this scam yourself and you put up to this by others with whom you shared the proceeds.”
Cleough was given an 18-month community order with an 18-month supervision requirement and ordered to complete 140 hours unpaid work.
