Paul Akuda, 64, receives seven years in prison for crimes committed while working for Royal Mail
JAILED: Paul Akuda
A MAN who managed to steal more than £1m by committing cheque book fraud while working for the Royal Mail has been jailed for seven years.
Paul Akuda, 64, of Handsworth, Birmingham, received the prison term last week (Jan 10) after being found guilty of conspiring to commit fraud at Birmingham Crown Court in December of last year.
Arrested in May 2011, Akuda used his position as a postal handler at the St Stephens Street mail centre in Aston to steal post, where he was caught out by investigators looking into complaints of bank customers having their accounts used despite not receiving their cheque books.
Following a search of his home, police recovered 38 items of stolen mail, and detectives estimated over £1m was fraudulently acquired by Akuda between November 2010 and April 2011.
He was bailed after his initial arrest but attempted to evade justice when he fled to Belgium. Yet he was sent back to the UK in June 2013 after arrested by Belgian authorities following an attempt to claim benefits.
Upon being sentenced last week, Judge Simon Carr described Akuda as a “thoroughly dishonest man” who absued the trust of his employers and the public.
Detective constable Dan Reilly, of West Midlands Police’s Economic Crime Unit’s Serious Fraud Team, said: “Akuda has displayed a great amount of dishonesty and has quite rightly been handed a lengthy jail term for his fraudulent activity which took place over a prolonged period of time.
“He repeatedly abused his position and whilst we were unable to locate where the stolen items ended up, we know from the banks involved that they were used to steal more than a million pounds.
“We will always relentlessly pursue people like Akuda because fraud is not a victimless crime; it impacts on all law-abiding citizens who are ultimately forced to pick up the cost.”
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