Ex-Morrisons employee found guilty of £2m data theft

AN internal auditor has been found guilty of data theft which cost his former employers Morrisons £2m.

A jury at Bradford Crown Court heard that Andrew Skelton secured unauthorised access to computer material and disclosed the personal data due to a “personal grievance” and had attempted to redirect blame and implicate a fellow employee.

Originally from Liverpool, former Morrisons employee Mr Skelton was sentenced to eight years in prison for leaking the personal information of 100,000 members of staff.

Reviewing lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service, David Holderness said that Mr Skelton was motivated to steal the data after a previous incident where he was accused of dealing in legal highs at work.

He was subjected to disciplinary action in 2013 after a package was found in the mail room at Morrisons headquarters in Bradford, which turned out to be related to eBay deals. He was given a warning at the time.

David Holderness, reviewing lawyer, Complex Casework Unit, CPS Yorkshire and Humberside said: “Andrew Skelton was in a position of considerable trust with access to confidential personal information as Senior Internal Auditor at Morrisons.

“He abused this position by uploading this information which included employees’ names, addresses and bank account details onto various internet websites.

“He then attempted to cover his tracks and implicate a fellow employee by using this colleague’s details to set up a fake email account.

“The potential loss to his victims and the sheer quantity of potentially compromised data was very significant and could have resulted in employees identities being stolen.

“Currently Morrisons has incurred costs of almost £2 million as a result of this fraud, costs have included professional fees, legal fees and fees incurred through attempts to safeguard their employees.”

 

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