Rotherham company boss who gave himself pay rise without permission avoids jail sentence

The operations director at a Rotherham firm who ordered for his own salary to be increased without authorisation defrauded the company out of £100,000, police say.
Andrew MitchellAndrew Mitchell
Andrew Mitchell

Andrew Barry Mitchell, of Kiveton Lane, Todwick, South Yorkshire, avoided a jail sentence after admitting 11 counts of false accounting and five counts of fraud at Sheffield Crown Court.

The 39-year-old was sentenced to a two-year jail term, suspended for two years, as well as 250 hours’ community service.

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He was convicted after staff from his firm Roebuck and Clarke (Galvanising) Limited in Rotherham called police in September 2011 to report concerns over the company’s finances and possible fraudulent activity.

Enquiries conducted by specialist investigators from South Yorkshire Police’s Financial Crime Investigation Unit revealed that Mitchell, who was Operations Director at the time, ordered his salary to be increased without authorisation from the company’s managing director and created false sales invoices.

Between 2009 and 2011, it is estimated that Mitchell defrauded the company out of around £100,000.

Detective Constable Steven Strecker, who led the investigation, said: “I am pleased that Mitchell accepted responsibility for his crimes and entered a guilty plea.

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“Examination of financial records showed that Mitchell created false invoices to make sales figures appear higher, as well as fraudulently increasing his salary with no approval to do so.

“His actions had a significant impact the company, which ultimately suffered financial collapse leading to the loss of 90 jobs.”

South Yorkshire Police said today that they are now pursuing further action under the Proceeds of Crime Act.