A London Transport company accountant stole thousa

A London Transport company accountant stole thousands from his
firm to pay off his mortgage arrears and buy himself an expensive car,
it was claimed today (Mon).

David Clarke, 37, an employee of London Forest Travel Ltd.

, a
subsidiary of London Transport, simply forged a boss’s signature to
take funds from the company account, a jury were told.

Clarke, of Greenshaw, Brentwood, Essex, denies four charges of
theft relating to cheques totalling some pnds stlg 47,895 between June
1990 and May last year.

Snaresbrook Crown Court was told that during 1990 and 1991 Clarke
was employed by LFT – who were based at Chingford Road, Walthamstow,
but have since ceased to exist – as an acountant looking after the
running of the finance department.

Miss Anne Ratcliffe, prosecuting, explained that in June 1990 he
wrote a company cheque for some pnds stlg 12,608 to pay off mortgage
arrears on his home.

The jury were shown subsequent letters that Clarke received from
solicitors confirming that an eviction appointment had been cancelled
because his arrears had been effectively paid off by LFT.

Clarke was one of those authorised to sign company cheques but to
give them validity there also had to be a second accompanying
signature from one of LFT’s directors – which Clarke allegedy forged.

And in August 1990 he similarly used a pnds stlg 22,871 cheque to
buy a top of the range Toyota car for himself.

‘The Crown’s case is that the director did not sign either of
those cheques,’ continued Miss Ratcliffe.

It was not until June last year when internal auditors discovered
the two sizeable transactions that had not been accounted for.

After Clarke’s subsequent arrest a sales invoice detailing the
purchase of the Toyota was found in his desk drawer along with
documentation regarding his mortgage payments, the court was told.

In police interview he said that one of his superiors allowed him
to draw out a company cheque in relation to his home loan.

And Clarke was alleged to have told detectives that a boss had
agreed that he could buy a company car with the firm’s money.

After further inquiries were carried out two further suspicious
cheques totalling more than pnds stlg 12,000 came to light.

‘On these two occasions a slightly different system was used by
the defendant,’ said Miss Ratcliffe.

Counsel explained that they were moneys to be paid from LFT to
two engineering companies but Clarke cancelled the payments and made
the ammounts payable into his personal bank account.

‘The prosecution say the defendant has stolen these two ammounts
by making the cheques into his favour after cancelling them.

‘
Miss Ratcliffe told the jury that Clarke ‘quite simply helped
himself’ to LFT’s money by writing out cheques and using the forged
signature of a company director.

‘The motor car and the mortgage arrears were nothing to do with
the company and were his own personal business.

He was fully aware of
that,’ said counsel.

The trial continues tomorrow (Tue).

ENDS