“Extensive and deliberate criminality” Steven Hunter, head professional at Royal Winchester Golf Club sentenced to jail for £100k fraud
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Steven Hunter, pro head at Royal Winchester Golf club
After cheating his employer of more than £100,000, the head professional of a prominent golf club, Steven Hunter was sentenced to five years in prison. Steven Hunter, aged 54, collected green fees at the Royal Winchester Golf Club but “vastly under-reported the takings and kept the difference for himself”, said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
After a trial at Salisbury Crown Court, he was convicted guilty of fraud. Over a five-year period, the court heard, Hunter “exploited” the club. While imposing punishment, Judge Andrew Barnett remarked that the defendant’s acts were “extensive, purposeful, and terribly wounding to people who put their trust in you.”
“Whether motivated by greed or disorganization that became dishonest, you exploited the club and the trust they had put in you to some considerable degree,” added the Judge. ‘His deception has not only caused the golf club financial loss but has also prevented a charity from receiving the benefit of very generous donations made in memory of a man who meant a lot to the club and its patrons.’ said the judge. He was accused of stealing £109,375 in green fee payments from the club, which was founded in 1888, over a five-year period beginning in June 2013.
Steven Hunter was charged with stealing money from the historical club
“He was consistently claiming that the income was only a third of what it should have been, using the rest of the money to fund his lifestyle.” said a CPS spokeswoman “It was only when the club manager reviewed the figures for income from visitors’ fees that the scale of Hunter’s fraudulent behavior was discovered”.
In two charity golf outings held in support of Canine Partners in memory of Les Day, a longtime member of the golf club, Hunter allegedly “cruelly” stole £11,000 from the fundraisers, leaving the charity with only £47. Additionally, he transferred £343,449 in revenue from his professional golf shop to his personal account rather than his business account in order to avoid paying taxes.
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By neglecting to report retainer payments and VAT payments totaling more than £105,000 to HMRC, Hunter, of Abbots Worthy in Hampshire, defrauded the government of even more money. According to Hunter’s attorney, Robert Shaw, the club should be “completely recompensed under the Proceeds of Crime Act” because Hunter voluntarily returned half of the money he had stolen.
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