Accountant jailed for 16 months

3:15pm Monday 29th October 2007

A LONDON Underground accountant who stole more than £37,000 to fund child support payments has been jailed for 16 months.

Andrew Trump, 48, of Water Mint Way, Calne, claimed he turned to crime because so much of his earnings were deducted for the maintenance of his daughter.

He siphoned off up to £500 a time for more than eight years by falsifying the accounts when he came to work on a Sunday.

Trump, who had been working for London Underground since 1992, was only caught when he went on holiday and someone else came in to do the books.

Prosecutor Anil Patani told Southwark Crown Court: "He was employed as a consolidator in the ticket office at Victoria Underground Station. He had considerable responsibility for banking the money.

"The defendant was placed in a position of trust where his work was not supervised."

Trump stole a total of £37,410 between 1999 and his arrest after the discrepancies came to light on February 13 this year.

The Child Support Agency deducted £20,672.80 directly from his salary between January 10, 2001 and September 16, 2006.

Payments went towards a daughter from his first marriage, which had ended when she was just six years old.

The girl is now 18 and Trump also has a 13-year-old daughter from his current relationship.

Judge John Price told him: "You are the sort of person Mr Trump who I am sure will never be in a court again.

"I am sure this has been a terrible trauma for you and I think of your family and I think of your daughter, the trauma they will go through, and I take that into account.

"Even today you helped your counsel explain how matters had been put at magistrates court and in my view that is the sign of a basically decent man, who is very distressed at what has happened."

Trump admitted seven counts of false accounting and one of theft.