Retired Major General Jailed for Fraud

[ClaphamGT3]

What he did was wrong. He deserved to be punished and to pay the money back but 21 months in jail seems disproportionate, especially as his retrospective dismissal will have pension implications

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-56538...

[Lotobear]

Clearly not the very model of a modern major general.

[ClaphamGT3]

Lotobear said:

Clearly not the very model of a modern major general.

Well, let’s hope not!

[Taffer]

As one of the highest ranking officers in the Army, his conduct should have been beyond reproach. He committed fraud, and actually took steps to alter his locations to cover it up - he absolutely deserves to have the book thrown at him.

[Ayahuasca]

So had his wife moved to London with him all would have been good? She stayed in Dorset, and that cost him everything. Would she have been happy if the kids had had to be pulled out of their posh school? Harsh, very harsh on the bloke.

[Ian Geary]

Ayahuasca said:

So had his wife moved to London with him all would have been good? She stayed in Dorset, and that cost him everything. Would she have been happy if the kids had had to be pulled out of their posh school? Harsh, very harsh on the bloke.

She could have moved wherever she pleased....


...but just don't claim £50k odd for distance school fees when they live close.


I did initially think the punishment is quite harsh, especially when you hear about fraudsters who have nothing to lose who effectively shrug it off punishment for similar amounts.

But then I thought some more: his status and position should perhaps have made him think twice about breaking rules that do seem quite clear.

A bit like MP expenses, or other white collar fraud (although it was actually khaki)

[anonymous-user]

What a major tit, proper rank above his station.

[Escort3500]

Ian Geary said:

Ayahuasca said:

So had his wife moved to London with him all would have been good? She stayed in Dorset, and that cost him everything. Would she have been happy if the kids had had to be pulled out of their posh school? Harsh, very harsh on the bloke.

She could have moved wherever she pleased....


...but just don't claim £50k odd for distance school fees when they live close.


I did initially think the punishment is quite harsh, especially when you hear about fraudsters who have nothing to lose who effectively shrug it off punishment for similar amounts.

But then I thought some more: his status and position should perhaps have made him think twice about breaking rules that do seem quite clear.

A bit like MP expenses, or other white collar fraud (although it was actually khaki)

Agree. Not at all harsh - he knew exactly what he was doing and thought he’d get away with it

[JQ]

I'll bet he's not the only person to have done this. Might be a few worried people out there.

[shed driver]

It's all about Values and Standards. At some stage there is the possibility that he could have been disciplining junior soldiers for other values and standards transgressions.

He knew what he was doing and has rightly been punished. Would be funny if he was sentenced to Colly Nick.

SD.

[liner33]

So 21 months in jail ? What jail would that be Colchester or do officers have a different prison ie no polo or mess nights ?

[knitware]

I wonder if the 'neighbour' is satisfied, a call is all it took to bring down the whole family. I agree, stupid idea Major, but it's not millions, it's £48k fraud, 21 months in jail is a bit OTT.

Mmm, the 'neighbour' has upset me more then the Major, why's that?

[anonymous-user]

knitware said:

I wonder if the 'neighbour' is satisfied, a call is all it took to bring down the whole family. I agree, stupid idea Major, but it's not millions, it's £48k fraud, 21 months in jail is a bit OTT.

Mmm, the 'neighbour' has upset me more then the Major, why's that?

A position of responsibility will always come with a weight of culpability much greater than one not so high up the ladder. The neighbour was most likely in the service too. He did it clearly just for greed reasons, similar to the MP expense scandals.

[CS Garth]

The Spruce Goose said:

What a major tit, proper rank above his station.

Technically a major general tit

[Glade]

JQ said:

I'll bet he's not the only person to have done this. Might be a few worried people out there.

Radio 4 news item mentioned at least one other who has been done for this.

Abuse of power, they should be prosecuted to prevent others taking the piss in the same way.

Various pigs in various troughs must be costing us all stloads

[bigandclever]

knitware said:

I wonder if the 'neighbour' is satisfied, a call is all it took to bring down the whole family. I agree, stupid idea Major, but it's not millions, it's £48k fraud, 21 months in jail is a bit OTT.

Mmm, the 'neighbour' has upset me more then the Major, why's that?

It was reported that the missus thinks it was the wife of a soldier that dobbed them in.

[anonymous-user]

bigandclever said:

It was reported that the missus thinks it was the wife of a soldier that dobbed them in.

"Hoisted by his own petard''.

[yellowjack]

bigandclever said:

knitware said:

I wonder if the 'neighbour' is satisfied, a call is all it took to bring down the whole family. I agree, stupid idea Major, but it's not millions, it's £48k fraud, 21 months in jail is a bit OTT.

Mmm, the 'neighbour' has upset me more then the Major, why's that?

It was reported that the missus thinks it was the wife of a soldier that dobbed them in.

It matters not a jot who "dobbed him in". It's no different to the scam that I uncovered many years ago on my new POL Account (fuels and lubes). Under the stewardship of several previous account holders, a system was in place whereby drivers from the MT Troop regularly filled a jerrycan and attributed the fuel to the Land Rover that they hid the can behind while filling it. Something fishy was going on, so fishy it stank. This wasn't the odd splosh of diesel from the bottom of a jerrycan going in Smudge's Astra. It was organised fraud/theft of public property. And there were far too many "thirsty" Land Rovers to dismiss it. I fed my suspicions up to my QM and an audit did the rest. 8 soldiers from LCpl up to SSgt were disciplined. 4 were jailed and then dismissed. I had no choice - the accounts would show it wasn't possible for me to not know, and from there it was a case of their pensions or mine, even if I'd have been tempted to overlook it.

NO-ONE should be feeling sorry for this Muppet. He was stealing YOUR bloody tax money. And abuse of this allowance is rife too. So this was as much an example setting "shot across the bows" aimed at officers further down the ladder as it was a punishment for one very senior miscreant. I'd expect quite a few claimants of this (and other) allowance(s) to be reporting a recent "change of circumstances" and either reduce the amount being claimed or suddenly realise that they are no longer entitled to claim it at all. It's a very stern warning indeed, going after such a senior officer who was already retired from the service. It demonstrates a willingness to pursue the matter, and also serves as a warning that no officer is above Military Law.

[OzzyR1]

Pure curiosity, but how much would a Major-General with 30+ years career in the Army be earning?

No idea of his incoming, but sounds like his kids were at schools costing £37K/year and £22K/year respectively.

£60K in school fees annually would roughly equate to a salary of £100K to fulfill child-education costs alone.

Add to that mortgage payments / cars / utility bills / living expenses etc.

If a Major-General doesn't pull in £200K basic then he was probably outliving his means.

All guesswork on my part though

[OzzyR1]

yellowjack said:

It's a very stern warning indeed, going after such a senior officer who was already retired from the service. It demonstrates a willingness to pursue the matter, and also serves as a warning that no officer is above Military Law.

A very stern warning indeed, and a statement that you stand to lose everything if found guilty of any transgression of military law.

Forces personnel are essentially forbidden from posting on social media and/or expressing their personal views.

Only my insignificant point-of- view, but many in the Army/RAF/Navy/other are fed up with the status quo. There will be an exodus over the next 2-3 years.