A London Borough of Southwark finance boss – who emptied council coffers of £666,000 over five years with the help of two money laundering accomplices – has been jailed for four years.
Senior Income Accounts Officer Barry Woods, 50, of Farrow Lane, New Cross gambled most of the money away – despite a £120,000 Spot the Ball win – and lost the rest in an ill-fated Dubai property venture.
He laundered stolen money through the bank accounts of his uncle, 78 year-old James Woods, of Solent Pines, Manor Road, Bournemouth and business associate Victoria Jackson, 52, of Mount Keen, Graveley, Stevenage.
Barry Woods pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and two counts of money laundering between September, 2003 and October, 2008.
James Woods and Jackson denied, but were convicted by a Croydon Crown Court jury, of entering into a money laundering arrangement.
The court heard Barry Woods was employed between October, 1991 and November, 2008, earning a £34,000 annual salary.
He managed a team responsible for council bills, finance records, rents and most importantly purchase orders and the refund of overpayments.
A total of £175,000 was laundered through his uncle’s bank account during a two-year period, with James Woods keeping only a few hundred pounds in return.
Jackson, a programme manager with an electronics company, jointly owned a Dubai property company with Barry Woods, which laundered £140,000.
The grandmother kept £1,000 for her assistance, plus other “lifestyle gifts” bestowed by Barry Woods.
The key to the fraud was Barry Woods’ authority to sanction refunds for overpayments to the council up to £5,000.
He was arrested on August 15, 2008 and confessed everything to investigators.
No money was repaid or recovered and Southwark Council are pursuing a Proceeds of Crime Act application.
The court heard Barry Woods is “devastated” his co-defendants were prosecuted and now claims he is penniless after huge gambling debts.
Jackson was described as “deeply ashamed” and “naïve and trusting” and now fears losing her job.
Judge Stephen Waller told Barry Woods: “You used the services of others to disguise the payments through money laundering. You became over-confident and greedy and began paying money into your own account under a false name.
“I am dealing with a large fraud committed over a number of years with some sophistication involving a clear breach of trust.”
James Woods was sentenced to ten months imprisonment, suspended for a year, and ordered to satisfy a twenty-eight day residency requirement at his address.
Jackson received ten months imprisonment, suspended for a year, and was ordered to complete 200 hours community service.
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