Cambridgeshire man jailed for fraud and breaching suspended sentence for theft

In January last year, John Marnes, 36, was given a credit card by his employers to pay for ‘business, travel and expenses’.

Before leaving the company, Marnes had racked up a bill totalling £8,591.22, including a £4,597 spend in Currys PC World.

The company made several attempts to contact Marnes, of High street, Southoe, St Neots, who gave no indication that he intended to repay the debt.

When interviewed by officers, Marnes claimed he was taking diazepam, codeine and tramadol, which gave him memory loss and he had no recollection of the illicit spending.

At the time of the offence, Marnes was serving a two-year suspended sentence for stealing electric goods worth more than £16,500 from an employer.

On Friday, December 14, at Cambridge Crown Court, Marnes was jailed for six months after previously pleading guilty to fraud by false representation at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court.

Detective Constable Edmund Boggis said: “Marnes has repeatedly abused the trust of his employers and will now serve time in prison as a result.

“Hopefully this sentence will provide a wake-up call to Marnes and anyone else hoping to turn a profit through deception.”