Hotel manager jailed for false invoices scam

A hotel manager has been jailed for 40 months after he stole more than £350,000 from his workplace through a false invoices scam.

Eamonn Canavan, 47, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday (March 10), having earlier pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position relating to offences committed at a hotel in Charlwood.

Canavan created invoices from fictitious staffing agencies which purported to supply staff to the hotel, and then pocketed the money.

Over the course of seven years, the 47-year-old set up bank accounts with similar sounding names to staff agencies that the hotel had previously used. Those accounts were used as a front to request the fake invoices which he could action as he had responsibility for and access to the hotel’s cheque books.

He set aside enough money from the scam to buy a hotel of his own to run in Wales, and loaned his former employers £170,000 to help them stay afloat during the economic crisis.

Bissi Johnson, who worked at the hotel as a waitress, was given a two-year suspended sentence for her role in the scam.

The 56-year-old of Kempshott Road, London also pleaded guilty part way through the same trial as Canavan to money laundering £10,000, which related to the use of her bank account to launder Canavan’s stolen money.

The offences were reported to Surrey Police in August 2012 by the hotel owners after they realised that the invoices for agency staff did not match up with the hours they were owed.

Canavan, of the Bryn Howel hotel and restaurant in North Wales, was confronted about the unusual activity and resigned in March 2012. He was arrested in July 2013.

Investigating officer Kevin Booth, who led the case, said: “Eamonn Canavan displayed a ruthless streak of greed which was eventually his downfall as his victims uncovered his devious plot.

“He forced himself into a position of trust at what was an established family business and took it to the brink of ruin as he syphoned off money through fake invoices.

“Staff did question his methods but he dismissed their queries using his superior position and iron-fist rule to continue with his deceit. When he realised the game was up he resigned from his position and later bought himself a hotel of his own in Wales at a cost of more than £1m.”

Booth added Surrey Police will be now pursuing further action under the Proceeds of Crimes Act to seize any assets acquired by Canavan as a result of these offences.