Wednesbury payroll clerk stole £350k from employer

Harminder Gill was jailed for four-and-a-half-years after admitting fraud at an earlier hearing

A payroll clerk who used a computer glitch to steal £350,000 to fund a lavish lifestyle, has been jailed.

Harminder Gill, 27, spent the cash on holidays, restaurants meals and hiring executive cars, police revealed.

The defendant, who worked for a north Warwickshire firm, believed the system glitch masked his thefts but an audit uncovered his actions.

Gill, of Hawkswood Drive, Wednesbury, had pleaded guilty to fraud at an earlier hearing at Warwick Crown Court.

After his arrest, Warwickshire Police said they uncovered six accounts set up in his and a family member's name, enabling him to live the high life.

Gill, who was jailed for four-and-a-half years, began transferring thousands of pounds at a time with the biggest single amount totalling £36,000.

He admitted making a total of 181 transactions between May 2019 and October 2021, the force said.

'Image of wealth'

The cash was spent on a £40,000 family holiday to Ibiza, as well as regular bookings at the Shard in London to entertain friends and £36,000 on hiring executive cars.

His fraudulent activities were uncovered when a member of staff prompted the audit after noticing they had not been paid, police said.

Det Con Kevin Usher said: "Gill was brazenly stealing this money from his employer and used it to portray an image of wealth to everyone who knew him. The reality couldn't have been further from the truth.

"He started off small, but like many offenders like this he became greedy."

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Gill had abused his position of trust.

"His offending continued for a period of two years and his actions show that he deliberately diverted transactions to his own accounts and those of his family members without their knowledge or consent," said Tejinder Sandhu, of the CPS.

"Mr Gill has now received a sentence that reflects the seriousness of his offending."