Jail for the MS sufferer who stole £300,000 from job training firm to provide a 'nest egg' for his family

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 10:22 EST, 11 January 2010


Stephen Calderbank

Stephen Calderbank stole money to look after his family when he could no longer work

An accountant suffering from multiple sclerosis stole more than £300,000 from his company to use as a 'nest egg' for his family, a court heard today.

Stephen Calderbank, 46, feared his three children would be left on the breadline after he was diagnosed with the incurable condition at a time when his wife was also seriously ill.

Over a three year period, the £35,000-a-year book-keeper stole money from Manchester-based Skills Solutions, a government-backed agency that offers work training programmes.

When his theft was exposed in a company audit, Mr Calderbank fled to London after writing a note to his wife saying: 'I don't want to hurt you any more - everything is paid for.'  

He returned six days later after a public appeal, but claimed he was suffering from amnesia, insisted he did not know what he did for a living, and said he had no memory of having worked at Skills Solutions.

Police discovered Mr Calderbank blew at least £90,000 of the money on his house in Nelson, Lancashire, and a new car.

His wife subsequently died in January last year.

At Burnley Crown Court, Calderbank admitted 20 charges of theft and asked for 18 other offences to be considered.

The crooked accountant was jailed for two years and two months.

Hugh McKee, prosecuting, said Calderbank took £310,410 between September 2004 and January 2008.

The accountant had worked at Skills Solutions for five years and produced monthly management accounts and also paid out invoices, sometimes for substantial sums.

On 38 occasions, Calderbank paid invoices twice, giving himself the same amount and putting it into either his current or savings accounts.

He took some steps to cover his tracks so he would be able to produce a genuine invoice if questioned.

The offences came to light in January 2008 after an internal audit revealed almost £350,000 was missing.

As the truth emerged Calderbank told his wife he felt under 'pressure' because of the audit and she then gave him an ultimatum to explain where he was getting the money for a £60,000 home extension.

On January 28, 2008, he left a note for his wife saying he had left home. He then returned six days later, saying he had been to London.

Calderbank had five bank accounts, two in his own name and three in joint names and statements showed payments being made.

Mr McKee said: 'It is something of a mystery as to where much of the money has gone and nobody knows, even after a financial investigation.

'His wife left her job at one point and maybe it was frittered away.' 

Calderbank will now face a proceeds of crime hearing and his children may lose the £140,000 family home they still live in.

Mark Stuart, defending, said Calderbank did not set up bogus accounts, adding: 'It was all bound to fall upon him . It was a remarkable lack of sophistication.'  

He said Calderbank had undoubtedly acted strangely by taking himself off to London. His wife had been ill at the time.

He was ill between February and May last year when he was suffering from depression and he became a hospital inpatient.

Mr Stuart said Calderbank was physically disabled through MS, which was incurable and degenerative and he seemed to have been carrying out some 'nest building' for when he could no longer work and his wife was no longer there.

His wife had also been arrested over the offences but subsequently vindicated of all of blame.

Calderbank's conduct had been 'completely and utterly out of character.'  He could not give any explanation about where the money had gone.

Mr Stuart said: 'The only explanation is he must have spent it on the kids, the house, the wife and their general living.'  

'If a member of the public were to hear this would they feel the children, in addition to losing their mother a year ago, must lose their father to prison today ?'

But after the case Det Sgt Andrew Naismith, of Greater Manchester Police said: 'The depth of Calderbank's betrayal to his employer is staggering.

'He stole hundreds of thousands of pounds without a second thought to those who were paying him, what was in reality, a decent salary.

'He is clearly motivated by greed and I am certain had he not been caught he would have continued to steal.

'Calderbank thought he could get away with his crime and in the end his arrogance was his downfall.

'He has even tried to avoid responsibility by claiming to have no knowledge of what he did, proving he is nothing more than a cowardly thief.'

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