Jail time for former Asda executive after £180,000 fraud
EX-ASDA boss Paul Kelly has been jailed for three years following revelations that he defrauded £180,000 from the supermarket’s charity.
The former vice-president of corporate affairs at Leeds-based, US-owned Asda admitted the theft in January.
Kelly pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud at Leeds Crown Court earlier diverting funds from the Asda Foundation flood victims fund to Murley Dance, a ballet company run by his partner, David Murley.
Kelly had worked at Asda for seven years, and was the company’s chairman for the charitable association.
He was dismissed in September 2014 following the internal investigation into the offence, which took place between July 2013 and May 2014.
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An Asda spokesperson told the BBC: “We are pleased that our internal controls worked and respect the decision made by the court today.
“In 2015 we made an additional donation by way of a gift to the Asda Foundation so that none of the good causes it supports were financially disadvantaged as a result of this matter.”
Det Insp Paul Hobson, of West Yorkshire Police, said: “We welcome the custodial sentence that Kelly has been given.
“He abused his position of trust to defraud a charity fund out of a large amount of money. We will now be seeking to recoup the stolen money.”
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