Jean Jacques Gosselin says he put in fraudulent invoices to get back the money that he believed was owed to him after his business partner did not pay him a dividend in 2013 and 2014.
The 43-year-old, who pleaded guilty to 12 counts of fraud totalling £13,295.42 and three counts of attempted fraud totalling £680, was given on Friday a 15-month prison sentence suspended for two years by the Royal Court.
The court heard that Gosselin had a 20 per cent share in the company, while his partner owned 80 per cent. In November 2014, after the defendant had left the company, his former business partner became aware that Gosselin was sending out fraudulent invoices and seeking payment directly into his personal bank account. It was later discovered that Gosselin started the fraud in 2011 before he left the firm.
Solicitor General Mark Temple, prosecuting, said that when Gosselin was questioned by police he immediately said that he had created invoices to get money that he believed he was owed.
Advocate Rui Tremoceiro, defending, said that his client had committed the crime after making a ‘dreadful error of judgment’ and had shown remorse for his offences.
Delivering the court’s sentence, Bailiff William Bailhache said: ‘We’ve seen a personal victim statement signed by your company shareholder, saying that he finds it very difficult to reconcile that you were a trusted business partner and a close friend for some 25 years.’
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