A man who stole nearly £400,000 from his wife’s family business has been jailed for eight years, after the Royal Court heard how his crimes had a “devastating impact” on relatives – while he enjoyed an “expensive lifestyle” and “lavish holidays” at their expense.

Benjamin Mitton (48) was convicted for one count of larceny as a servant and two counts of transferring proceeds of crime by a jury in April.

Mitton worked for Hunt Bros Ltd from 2015 to 2019 and, while the company’s profits plunged, the trusted employee quietly deposited £397,000 in cash into his personal bank accounts.

He had been employed by his wife’s family to be responsible for admin that included the company’s accounts.

Crown Advocate Mike Preston, prosecuting, said Mitton was “paid well by the business and given substantial bonuses each year”.

“He and his wife were living rent-free in a two-bed semi-detached house owned by his father-in-law,” the advocate added.

The scrap metal business relied mainly on cash, and Mitton was one of just three employees who were signatories on the Hunt Bros bank account.

The larceny as a servant offence refers to money he stole, in cash, from the money he collected from the bank.

When NatWest closed Mitton’s personal account and he opened a new one, he transferred money into this. The two offences of transferring the proceeds of crime refer to these bank transfers.

“Despicable conduct”

Crown Advocate Preston said: “The business was run on trust. The defendant abused that trust.”

When Hunt Bros faced financial difficulties, Mitton’s brother-in-law and company director James Hunt was left doubting himself and his abilities.

Mr Hunt “blamed himself for letting his father and uncle down” and “broke down at what he saw as his own failings”, said Crown Advocate Preston.

Witnessing his employer’s breakdown, Mr Mitton “shook his head and told him to go home” despite knowing he was to blame, the court heard.

“This was despicable conduct on behalf of the defendant,” the Crown Advocate said.

He added that Mitton “lived an expensive lifestyle” and spent money on “lavish holidays”.

“It is not an extraordinary case”

Advocate Greg Herold-Howes, defending, said Mitton had waited a long time to go on trial.

But Crown Advocate Preston said the delays were due to the “complex and lengthy investigation, largely down to the conduct of the defendant himself”.

Advocate Herold-Howes also pointed out that Mitton’s reputation had already suffered.

He acknowledged that Jersey courts are typically strict on financial crime, but said that Mitton’s case was not one that would endanger confidence in the island’s financial industry.

Advocate Herold-Howes said the case was a “serious breach of trust”, but argued that “it is not an extraordinary case”.

“A tight-knit family business based on trust”

Handing down the sentence, Commissioner Andrew Oldland said: “On any analysis, this is a very substantial sum of money, particularly for a relatively small family business.”

He said that Mitton had taken advantage of the company’s weaknesses, exploiting its accounting systems instead of improving them like he had been employed to do.

“It was a small, tight-knit family business based on trust,” he said.

“As a consequence, it did not have a particularly robust system of checks and balances.”

The Commissioner explained that, as a “member of the family”, Mitton had been been entrusted with “large sums of money” and made a signatory for the company’s bank account.

“A devastating impact”

He noted that the offending had “a devastating impact on all of the members of the family, old and young”.

Mitton had continued to try and “deflect” blame, he added.

The Commissioner said Mitton’s offending was made worse due to the “particularly serious” breach of trust, the offending lasted more than four years, the impact on the family, and how he use the stolen funds.

Mitton had spent the money on “funding a lavish lifestyle” that included holidays in the Caribbean, cruises, five-star hotels, and an expensive car.

“The extent of your stealing was such that Hunt Bros fell into a loss position,” the Commissioner said.

But he did give Mitton some credit for doing charitable work.

Commissioner Andrew Oldland was presiding with Lieutenant Bailiff Ronge and Jurats Averty, Le Heuzé, Entwistle and Berry.