I do wonder what people are thinking when they steal money … I suppose some folks never get caught, but gee ….
Cameron Poole, 36, is said to have plundered the orchestra’s accounts by forging signatures on cheques and credit cards.
He is alleged to have siphoned off the money to pay for flights, jewellery, artwork, clothes and even an extension to his £900,000 family home in south London.
His secret payments went undiscovered for almost three years, draining the orchestra’s reserve fund and leaving it facing total losses estimated at more than £2.3 million.
The Australian-born accountant, whose assets have been frozen as part of a separate High Court action by the orchestra, admitted charges of fraud by abuse of position and acquiring and using criminal property during a brief hearing at Southwark Crown Court yesterday.
Judge Deborah Taylor granted Poole bail but warned him that the “most likely outcome” of his case would be a custodial sentence.
A father-of-three who presented himself as committed Christian, Poole earned £60,000 a year as the publicly funded orchestra’s general manager until his departure in 2009 when his activities first came to light.
