The fraudulent activities of a man overseeing the finances of a small weekly newspaper almost put paid to the cherished long-standing title.
David Vasey awarded himself an unofficial £75,000 that he believed he was owed for extra work he took on as first finance director and then managing director of the Teesdale Mercury, in Barnard Castle.
But by the time he resigned from the company after four years, in September 2016, to retire to Normandy, in France, his fraudulent actions had not come to light.
Durham Crown Court heard he left on good terms, but it was only following his departure that the state of the company’s finances was revealed.
Martin Towers, prosecuting, told the court: “Prior to his departure there was nothing to suggest he was anything other than a capable employee.”
When Vasey left, confusion arose over profit forecasts, arrangements for the accounts and the date of the next annual meeting.
It emerged the Inland Revenue had been trying to meet him at the time and problems with the accounts surfaced, as did irregularities in Vasey’s conduct.
Mr Towers said it became clear the defendant had been, “engaging in persistent and widespread fraud for his own benefit, at the company’s expense”.
Vasey awarded himself unauthorised overpayments to his salary, misused petty cash, overpaid the amount of his personal expense claims, used the company credit card for his own personal expenditure, and overpaid his travel expenses.
Mr Towers said Vasey paid himself for going to business meetings that did not take place or that he did not attend.
He used a variety of methods to conceal his fraud, including altering financial records, to incorporate transactions for which there was no financial record, produced false documents and made incorrect entries on bank statements.
Mr Towers said the high value of his crime put the future of the Teesdale Mercury, established in 1854, in jeopardy as well as the jobs of its staff.
Business owner at the time, Caroline Vane, said: “In an already challenging environment for local media, Mr Vasey’s actions put a huge additional strain on the Teesdale Mercury and the employees.”
She said she worked painstakingly, often into the early hours, to try to resolve its finances and, at a time it went into a Company Voluntary Arrangement, in February 2017, leading to the sale of some company premises in Barnard Castle to pay back the revenue.
Ms Vane said she would use her own credit card to purchase stock as there was a freeze on the company card.
She said: “I feel that right from the start he continued to exploit myself and the company for his own financial gain and presented me with false information in a convincing fashion.”
Ms Vane said she found the whole period, from 2016 to 24, “exhausting”, impacting on her health and sleep patterns.
It led to the transfer of the business to another newspaper publisher, “in order to preserve a much-valued newspaper”, in 2024.
The company’s former Market Place shop has been lost, but it managed to retain its Galgate premises, but she added that the whole situation was, “heartbreaking”.
Vasey, 63, who has been living temporarily in Longframlington, Northumberland, as part of his bail conditions, admitted a single count of fraud by abuse of position.
The court heard that the defendant, who is of otherwise good character, has recently repaid the £75,000, but Judge Nathan Adams pointed out he offered to do so “without prejudice” in 2017, but the repayment was not then made at that time.
Chris Knox, for Vasey, said, during the course of the long drawn-out investigation, it was indicated that the defendant was, “anxious to resolve matters and anxious to repay.”
Mr Knox said there has been no proper explanation why the case was not pursued until a decade after Vasey left the business.
But he added that the defendant was, “remorseful for what he has done and has done what he can to show that.”
He said the defendant and his wife, particularly, both have health concerns, and are eager to go back to their retirement home in Normandy.
Judge Adams said the nub of the case appeared to be the fact that Vasey felt he was worth a pay rise which he wasn’t given, but took the money anyway, by his own illegal means.
The judge said he accepted that Vasey appeared to have been, “hard-working and respected” during his four years with the Mercury, but noted that he left as concerns about irregularities in its finances were just starting to surface.
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He acknowledged that the defendant and his wife both have health issues and that Vasey is considered “a low risk of reoffending” by the Probation Service.
The judge imposed a 24-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
He added that had Vasey still lived in the UK and did not have health issues, he would have ordered him to carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work.
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