A HOUSING association boss who swindled his employer out of £75,000 by buying computer equipment before selling it from his personal eBay account has been jailed.

IT manager Craig Williams even used his organisation’s credit card to buy back some of the stock he had stolen while advertising it for sale online.

• Sign up to our Crime and Court newsletter to get all the day’s news direct to your inbox

The 45-year-old carried out the “sophisticated” fraud at the expense of Caerphilly-based United Welsh where he had worked for nearly 17 years.

In a victim impact statement read to Cardiff Crown Court, the housing association’s chief executive Lynda Sagona said: “He was a respected and trusted manager within the IT department.

MORE NEWS

“People looked up to him for leadership and support. He was held in high regard.

“His actions were calculated and planned. He then went to great lengths to cover his tracks.”

Prosecutor Abigail Jackson said: “This was an abuse of trust within a non-profit organisation and it took place over a substantial period of time – five years.”

She told the court how Williams’ offending came to light after an investigation into “overspending” in the IT department.

It was discovered the defendant had been buying processors for CCTV cameras that were incompatible with equipment used by the housing association.

When he was confronted at a meeting, Williams confessed to what he had done.

Miss Jackson said: “When he was shown the invoices, he said, ‘I’m responsible. I’m going to come clean. I got into financial difficult and I’ve been selling them.’”

When he was arrested, the defendant made full admissions and said he sold the goods from his eBay account.

As a manager, the defendant had access to the housing association’s credit card and used it to buy some of the pinched items.

Williams, of Heol Keir Hardie, Penywaun, Aberdare, pleaded guilty to committing fraud by false representation between 2013 and 2018.

Andrew Kendall, mitigating, asked the court to take into account his client’s guilty plea and his previous good character.

He said the father-of-three provided for his family and they could be made homeless if he went to prison and was unable to pay the mortgage.

Describing the fraud as “sophisticated”, the judge, Recorder Greg Bull QC told Williams: “For the last seven years, you have been living a lie.

“Your use of the organisation’s credit card meant they sometimes lost out twice.”

The judge said his offending was so serious that only a period of immediate custody was justified.

The defendant was jailed for two years.