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Former Ofcom UK IT Chief Jailed for Over 2 Years Following GBP522k Fraud

Posted: 09th Jun, 2011 By: MarkJ
ofcom ukThe former boss of IT Services at Ofcom UK and a Royal Navy veteran, Jurgen Whitehouse (37), has been jailed for two years and six months by Southwark Crown Court after he defrauded the communications regulator of £522,123 between July 2008 and April 2009.

The allegation was first reported to police on 17th March 2010 by Ofcom's Financial Controller. Following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police, Whitehouse was arrested on 29th June 2010 and subsequently charged in February this year.

Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Elliott Toms, said:

"This was a premeditated and calculated fraud on a public body which was conducted over a prolonged period. He exploited his expert knowledge of systems in place at OFCOM in order to steal in excess of half a million pounds. This sentence will hopefully serve as a deterrent to others who are similarly tempted to abuse their positions of responsibility."

An Ofcom Spokesperson said:

"In 2009 Jurgen Whitehouse was dismissed by Ofcom for gross misconduct. The matter of suspected fraud was reported immediately to the police. Jurgen Whitehouse pleaded guilty to Fraudulent Abuse of Position under the Fraud Act and received a custodial sentence earlier today; the majority of the funds have already been returned to Ofcom and we are confident that we will recover the full amount.

Our financial controls are robust, appropriate and proportionate. The fraud was as a consequence of the abuse of position by a particular employee rather than as a consequence of a weakness in Ofcom's processes. This has been corroborated by both our internal and external audit providers through their audit work and reports."

It's unclear precisely how Whitehouse managed to conduct the fraud, although one report in the Daily Mail states that he had started out "legitimately" by using his own company to source software licences and related equipment for Ofcom (i.e. saving the regulator money). Sadly he soon noticed that some invoices were being paid without equipment being delivered and promptly took advantage via false invoices.

So far Whitehouse has paid back £473,590 of the stolen money; the rest apparently went on VAT charges; all credit to Ofcom's "robust" financial controls then.
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