Nicked 500k – does 34 months in open jail, pays back 18k

A shamed insurance claims manager who fleeced his bosses out of £500,000 to enjoy a luxury lifestyle has been ordered to pay back just £18,000.

James Cunnington, 37, cleared his debts, paid for home improvements, splashed out on trips abroad and used some of the cash to pay for his marriage to wife Jenny.

Cunnington admitted he took the money because he ‘wanted to provide a better life’ for his family after growing up in a house where ‘money was tight’.

He abused his position as a claims manager for Arthur J Gallagher in Birmingham, funnelling £511,486.90 into his own bank account under the cover of bogus insurance payouts.

Cunnington was jailed for 34 months in January and has just £18,039.50 worth of assets in his name, Inner London Crown Court heard.

Judge Owen Davies QC told the fraudster: ‘The agreed benefit amount is £511,486.90 and I order that within three months you pay the sum of £18,039.50.

‘Eventually the payment will be made to Arthur J Gallagher.

‘If the payment is not made within three months, you will have a further sentence of three years.’

Cunnington’s scam was eventually uncovered thanks to an internal audit by his employers, uncovering more than 100 suspicious insurance claims.

He later admitted the fraud, saying he had spent money on bills, mounting debts, and mortgage payments, and ‘began to rely on the extra money’.

He also admitted taking holidays and paying off substantial loans, but said he was ‘surprised’ how much he had taken in total, struggling to say where mostly of it had gone.

Cunnington, formerly of Factory Road, Tipton, West Midlands, admitted fraud by abuse of position, between March 2011 and November last year.