Cashier who stole £89,000 escapes prison sentence

Credit: BPM.

A cashier who stole £89,000 from a firm of solicitors before spending it on watches and furniture has escaped a custodial sentence.

Peter Fahey, who had a previous conviction for stealing from an employer, raided business and client accounts of Lewis Onions in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham, for two years.

Handing him a suspended prison sentence Judge Roderick Henderson said he accepted he had mental health problems and had a “compulsion” to steal.

The 34-year-old, of Hazelwell, Fordrough, Kings Norton, who had previously admitted fraud, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.

He was also made the subject of an indefinite criminal behaviour order banning him from being in employment which involved handling money.

Bernard Linnemann, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court , said Fahey had worked for the solicitors between December 2013 and November 2016 and that he had failed to disclose his previous conviction which had lead to him serving a 16 month jail sentence.

He was asked to explain his actions but never returned to the firm.“There was a substantial loss to the firm which is not a big firm,” said Mr Linnemann.

He said it was investigated by the solicitors regulatory authority and there was a risk clients would discover their accounts had been raided and make civil claims.

When quizzed Fahey said he was not sure why he had taken the money and that he had spent it on watches, furniture and clothes and other house hold items, much of which he did not really need.

Peter Fahey, who had a previous conviction for stealing from an employer, raided business and client accounts of Lewis Onions in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham, for two years. Credit: Google Street View.

Judge Roderick Henderson said what Fahey had done had caused significant damage to the firm with potential consequences relating to insurance and clients confidence.

He said, though, when he committed the previous theft it had not been recognised he had a “large number of serious problems” and that to some extent it was an act of compulsive behaviour.

Tom Walkling, defending, said Fahey had made a serious suicide attempt and that his motivation for stealing derived from his mental illness.

“He is being treated by the mental health services and it is hoped this can be brought under control. The only person at risk of harm is himself.”