A council boss, who fled to the USA after taking nearly £94,000 from a taxpayer-funded hardship fund for vulnerable residents, has been jailed for two years.
William Rossetti, 32, supervised the Surrey Crisis Fund while employed by the county council, which helped needy locals with emergency cash for essentials such as food and heating.
However, over three years the married university graduate, of Colburn Crescent, Guildford topped-up 37 bogus cards with money on 316 occasions, Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court heard.
Rossetti claims he was haunted by debt and a need to keep his wife Rebecca happy with treats and investigators found multiple card usages in restaurants near the matrimonial home.
He pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position between June, 2014 and April, 2017; fraudulently misusing a computer and possessing articles for use in fraud, namely blank ALLPAY cards.
Prosecutor Mr. Stephen Apted told the court Rossetti was employed at the council’s county hall HQ in Kingston-upon-Thames as the scheme’s supervisor a year before the fraud began.
When a promotion took him to a new role based at Guildford Police Station the swindle was exposed and Rossetti was suspended on April 24, 2017.
He disappeared to Philadelphia, where he claims he contemplated suicide, but was persuaded to return by his wife, who flew out to him and was arrested at Heathrow Airport on May 16, 2017.
As an official ‘superuser’ Rossetti had full access to the scheme and loaded cards he created with up to £2,000 a time, even though the usual legitimate amount were £50-£60.
The scheme was administered by finance company ALLPAY and 12 of the cards were discovered in his police station desk.
Rossetti even abused the usernames of two council colleagues to obtain more money when one was on Easter holiday and the other had left their role.
“He is thoroughly ashamed and disgusted with what he has done, letting down his colleagues and nearest and dearest,” said Mr. Abdullah Al-Yunusi, defending.
“He was burdened by much debt from his student days due to misspending and miscalculations and via a personality disorder a desire to buy gifts for his wife, driven by a sense of paranoia of abandonment.
“He saw the ease with which transactions occurred and did a test transaction and got away with it.
“Much of the spending was in local restaurants and on railway tickets.
“He fled to the USA when confronted by the reality of what he had done and his life effectively came to and end.
“He ended his relationship with his wife and wrote her a pack of lies that he was going to Europe and there were thoughts of self-harm and ending his life.”
Judge Anne Brown said: “The taxpayers paid their taxes expecting this fund would be there for welfare purposes.”
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