Jarrow fraudster stole more than £17,000 using a former employer’s fuel card

Matthew Sutherland took advantage of the business perk to siphon fuel which he sold on to friends at a cheap price whilst going undetected for over a year.

The 40-year-old had been employed as a maintenance worker for Inspire Leisure who look after parks holding second properties and caravans across the North East.

The company supplied fuel cards to employees but operated on a trust basis before repaying staff what they were owed at the end of each month.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Sutherland was entrusted to use one of the cards in his role of transporting equipment around one site in Slaley, Northumberland.

But despite being made redundant in January 2022 for unrelated reasons, company bosses later discovered thousands of pounds in losses from the card used by the defendant in South Tyneside.

Prosecutor Antonia Aidie said Sutherland began working for Inspire Leisure in September 2020.

"The defendant was employed by the company as a garden and maintenance worker," she said.

"The company employed gardeners and maintenance staff such as the defendant to ensure the parks and gardens are maintained to high standard.

"Part of the defendant's role involved the use of moving vehicles and machinery around the park.

"His contract of employment was terminated in January 2022 albeit unrelated to the facts of this offence but rather due to company restructuring."

Ms Adie told the court that the business handed fuel cards to employees which were operated by a separate company called Allstar.

Ms Adie said: "There was no signing in or signing out of the fuel cards and the company allowed staff to use them on a trust basis."

The court was told the staff then received payments for the fuel every month.

However, in September 2023, the company's director was going through the accounts when he noticed a card had been used at a garage in South Shields and another in Jarrow.

Ms Adie added: "It's reported from the 2nd of September 2022 until the 21st of September 2023 the Allstar fuel card had made a number of transactions totalling £17,418.29.

"It was due to this the company director contacted the police and deactivated the fuel card.

"An investigation began and CCTV from the 11th to 21st of September 2023 was obtained from the garage in Jarrow. It showed the defendant putting fuel in the defendant's motor vehicles and fuel cannisters."

Sutherland was interviewed and made full admissions to the police and said he had sold off the fuel to friends at a price of £1 per litre.

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Sutherland, of Southlands, Jarrow, who has a single conviction dating back to 2013, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation.

In a victim impact statement, the company director said the distrust had caused upset and the loss of over £17,000 was huge to a small business.

Mr Recorder Kames Wood KC told Sutherland: "This is a prolonged period of fraud.

"You were employed by them as a gardener and they trusted you.

"They trusted you by giving you that job and giving you a credit card which effectively allowed you to fuel up their company cars so you could drive around their sites.

"You worked at Springhouse Country Park in Slaley and you fuelled up your car with the card and unfortunately a time came where there was no longer work for you and you were made redundant.

"But you didn't hand back your card or cards. In fact what you did was you used your card to make money and to fuel up the tanks of your mates so they could subsidise your lifestyle by paying you.

"That went on until between the 2nd of September 2022 until 21st of September 2023."

The recorder sentenced Sutherland to 12 months suspended for 18 months with ten days of rehabilitation activities to be completed.

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