Forest of Dean post office lost thousands due to fraud

The court heard that Cleaver made a personal profit of £22,840 from the fraud

A postmistress and her family thought they were victims of a software glitch when one of their own employees stole thousands from their business.

Aron Cleaver, 34, of Bayhead Villa, Lydbrook, admitted defrauding Lydbrook Post Office of almost £23,000, Gloucester Crown Court was told.

He was sentenced to an eight-month prison term, suspended for two years.

He was also informed that he would be facing Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings in due course.

Alison Mills and her family, were informed in 2020 that they were running at a loss and reinvested £8,000 to keep the business afloat.

Software glitch

They initially thought that there may have been a software glitch, which had previously affected many sub-postmasters during the introduction of the Horizon software.

The glitch saw many people being wrongly jailed for fraud.

The court heard that despite the cash injection the business still appeared to be losing money.

Ms Mills then became suspicious of Cleaver having viewed CCTV.

Suspended sentence

The court heard that Cleaver was taking money from the business in a variety of ways.

He would transfer funds into his own bank account; he would also assist his family members when they came in to the shop by giving them items for free.

Chambers admitted 13 charges of fraud by abusing his employment as a cashier or a lottery cashier and failing to safeguard the financial interests of the business between August 2018 and July 2019.

In doing he made a personal financial gain of £22,840.

"You have not given the court any explanation as to why you undertook this fraudulent action," said The Judge, Recorder Don Tait.

"It is a significant amount of money over a substantial period of time.

"I've read the pre-sentence report and the psychiatric report on you, and it seems to me that nothing will be achieved by sending you to prison immediately."