A shop manager who stole over £30,000 from his employers has been ordered to pay back some of the cash at a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing.
Kenneth Meadwell pocketed £35,167.52 while working as the manager of the Spar store on Bowerham Road, Lancaster, in a bid to tackle his personal debt problems. The 41-year-old banked store takings into his own account – the shortfall in takings then highlighted Meadwell’s theft to bosses.
Meadwell, of Broadmeadow, Lostock Hall, was arrested in December 2010 and appeared before Preston Crown Court in June of this year. He was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to theft.
At a POCA confiscation hearing at Preston Crown Court yesterday (Monday November 14) his available assets were identified as £3,900 and he was ordered to pay this within six months or face a further three months in prison.
Anna Willetts, financial investigator for Lancashire Constabulary, said: “This is a case where the available assets will be paid to the victim – in this case to the company for which Meadwell worked – and the outstanding amount can be revisited anytime in the future should we become aware that further assets are available.
“POCA is a useful tool for us to use, not only for stripping criminals of their ill-gotten gains but also for allowing us to return money that is rightfully theirs to the victims of crime.”