A crooked financial advisor who swindled a fortune from his trusted clients has finally met justice.
In a hearing earlier this week, Simon Kitchen, a former advisor at Skipton Building Society, has been ordered to pay back £115,459.05 of his realisable assets within the next six months.
The advisor was found guilty of fraud at Preston Crown Court, where Kitchen admitted to swindling £61,000 out of a pensioner in Lancashire while he was employed as a financial planner at the Lytham St Annes branch of the Skipton Building Society. The fraud spanned over a period of two years when it was finally uncovered by staff.
He used his position at the building society to accept cheques from his elderly victims, who believed that he was investing their money into profitable accounts, but in reality he was pocketing the cash in his own account.
He then later admitted a further four frauds against another elderly widower in Preston, from whom he took a further £61,000.
Kitchen was jailed in October for 32 months after admitting the defrauding of two clients.
Commenting on the case, a spokesman from Skipton Financial Services (of Skipton Building Society), said: “We have worked closely with the police throughout providing all information they require, ensuring that any money fraudulently taken was returned.
“The sentence passed earlier this year shows how seriously the courts treat client fraud and should hopefully serve as a deterrent to others.”
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