Guilty plea entered in Market Harborough fraud case

A Corby man has appeared in court pleading guilty to a number of fraud offences relating to a former Market Harborough tour operator.

Jamie Tann, 38, of Savernake Drive, Corby appeared at Leicester Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation and three counts of false accounting.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of perverting the course of justice.

The charges relate to the former travel business Diamond Shortbreak Holidays Limited which was based in Market Harborough.

Police were contacted in February 2017 by the company who had suspicions that Tann, who had been employed by the firm as its finance director, had made a number of payments which had raised concern.

An investigation began and it was discovered that between March 2015 and January 2017, Tann had fraudulently caused a total of £685,648 to be paid from company accounts to accounts controlled by him.  Furthermore it was discovered that he had falsified the company records in order to misrepresent their public financial position.

He was subsequently charged to appear at court where he has pleaded guilty today (1 October).

The perverting the course of justice charge relates to a false statement Tann provided in June 2016 in a High Court case regarding an unpaid credit card bill owed by the company.

Detective Constable Aaron Horn, who led the investigation, said: “Jamie Tann’s actions caused such financial loss to the company that it put them into administration leaving a significant number of people unemployed.

“It left 10,000 holiday makers with no bookings, who had to make claims against credit card companies to get their money back.

“Although Tann had made significant efforts to prevent his fraud and its extent being discovered, our investigation was able to evidence his actions leaving him with no choice to admit his guilt in court”

He will appear at the same court on 19 December.