Rochdale financial director jailed for stealing £1.5m from his employers

A financial director from Rochdale, who stole around £1.5million from his employers to help feed his gambling habit, has been jailed.

Graham Taylor's former colleagues were given the day off on full pay to go to court to see him get sentenced to five years in prison.

At an earlier hearing at Bolton Crown Court, Taylor had pleaded guilty to four offences of theft and two offences of fraud by abuse of position.

Taylor transfered a total of £1,553,636, from Nema Ltd, an engineering firm based in Rochdale. Taylor worked for the company for 12 years but since 2008 the firm, which had been profitable and turning over an average of £3million a year, began to be making a loss.

It was initially assumed to be linked to the general economic downturn. Such was the impact on the company’s finances that Taylor even suggested to the managing director that jobs needed to be shed.

This was done and three members of staff were laid off but the money problems continued. A firm of accountants were eventually brought in November 2010 to examine the company’s books.

During his interview with the accountants, Taylor confessed he had been stealing large sums of money from the company to help feed his gambling habit and was arrested.

He also admitted stealing £17,000 from the estate of his late mother, again to feed his internet bingo habit and blamed another family member for the thefts.