Railway accountant faces years behind bars
A former management accountant has been found guilty of defrauding a struggling railway company and is expected to be sentenced to several years in prison later this month.
Corina Heslop, who denied the charges levelled against her, was found guilty of nine out of 10 offences including eight counts of fraud and one for possessing items for use in fraud. She was cleared of a criminal damage offence.
Following a three-week trial at Durham Crown Court, which centred on a £36,781 fraud accusation, the Bishop Auckland accountant is set to be sentenced on 29 June.
Judge Christopher Prince warned her that she would be facing up to six years in prison. As reported in the Northern Echo, he told her: “The guidelines under which I operate, for an offence of this type, involving nearly £40,000 from an employer, you would be expected to receive a sentence of between four and five years.”
She will also to be sentenced for a previous conviction for fraudulently obtaining £70,000 in housing benefit over an eight-year period, which the judge took into consideration:
“For an offence of that nature the sentence would be of the order of 12 months and so the overall sentence could be between four to six years,” judge Prince said.
Heslop, who doesn't appear to be a member of the main chartered institutes, was accused of carrying out the fraud against her former employer British American Rail Services (BARS) - a train operating company which runs the Weardale Railway in County Durham.
The allegations related to eight cheques paid into her own accounts totalling £36,781 in 2009 when she was the company’s management accountant.
According to local press reports she altered invoices and company records to make it appear the money was paid to creditors for supplies and services. On the discovery of this she then claimed she was reimbursing herself for payments made in cash from her own funds on behalf of the company.
Her husband James Raymond Heslop, who denied criminal damage and possessing items for use in fraud, was cleared of any offences.
Corina Heslop, who denied the charges levelled against her, was found guilty of nine out of 10 offences including eight counts of fraud and one for possessing items for use in fraud. She was cleared of a criminal damage offence.
Following a three-week trial at Durham Crown Court, which centred on a £36,781 fraud accusation, the Bishop Auckland accountant is set to be sentenced on 29 June.
Judge Christopher Prince warned her that she would be facing up to six years in prison. As reported in the Northern Echo, he told her: “The guidelines under which I operate, for an offence of this type, involving nearly £40,000 from an employer, you would be expected to receive a sentence of between four and five years.”
She will also to be sentenced for a previous conviction for fraudulently obtaining £70,000 in housing benefit over an eight-year period, which the judge took into consideration:
“For an offence of that nature the sentence would be of the order of 12 months and so the overall sentence could be between four to six years,” judge Prince said.
Heslop, who doesn't appear to be a member of the main chartered institutes, was accused of carrying out the fraud against her former employer British American Rail Services (BARS) - a train operating company which runs the Weardale Railway in County Durham.
The allegations related to eight cheques paid into her own accounts totalling £36,781 in 2009 when she was the company’s management accountant.
According to local press reports she altered invoices and company records to make it appear the money was paid to creditors for supplies and services. On the discovery of this she then claimed she was reimbursing herself for payments made in cash from her own funds on behalf of the company.
Her husband James Raymond Heslop, who denied criminal damage and possessing items for use in fraud, was cleared of any offences.
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