An accountant in Leeds who altered a client’s checks to the taxman instead spent the money gambling. Waqar Akram’s employer eventually uncovered the crimes after the client contacted the firm about concerns over his payments. Buckle Barton looked into the matter and informed him he wasn’t on record as a client for the past few years.

The victim had been a client of the practice for four decades and Akram took over his account in 2019. The person gave Akram ten checks written out to HM Revenue and Customs worth a total of £108,048 ($144,040). The client started growing suspicious when he did not get any official paperwork after submitting the checks, so he contacted the accounting firm.

the checks had been changed to pay a company…Akram was the only shareholder

After making inquiries with the client’s bank, they discovered the checks were changed to pay a company named “HM Rose Ltd,” of which Akram was the only shareholder.

The 42-year-old initially claimed in November 2022 to be innocent before pleading guilty ahead of the trial to ten counts of fraud by false representation. Akram’s legal counsel explained that he had a gambling addiction that started from betting on soccer games before moving onto gambling machines and engaging in online wagering with increasingly bigger stakes.