A gin distillery expert who was headhunted by a company for his expertise abused his position as a director to steal around £143,000. Thomas Masters, 35, was hired to help the business but has since been jailed.
Masters, of Fairway, Keyworth, previously pleaded guilty to fraud and was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (March 16). Masters had set out plans to create a gin school with a bar and restaurant in Nottingham city centre.
He used money he stole to fund his gambling addiction. He was trusted with the company’s business accounts and spent the money for his own personal gain and to facilitate his gambling addiction. Between August 2018 and April 2019, Masters gambled away a total of £142,930.45 of investors' money, with the heavy losses caused by his actions then resulting in the business folding.
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Detective Constable Jason Jenkins, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "Masters took thousands of pounds that didn't belong to him and gambled it all away. After gaining the trust of the company that hired him, Masters manipulated his position as a director to bring the business to its knees, with his actions sadly resulting in the company ceasing to exist.
"As this case shows, fraud can have a devastating impact on its victims and can leave people at risk of having their livelihoods destroyed. We are pleased to see that justice has been served in this case and we hope that the result sends out a strong message that Nottinghamshire Police will never tolerate this kind of offending."
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