Falkirk crime: Crooked civil servant escapes jail after embezzling child maintenance cash

Jonathan McClure, who worked at the Child Maintenance Service's offices in Falkirk, fraudulently added his own bank details to computer files, causing money paid for the maintenance of children to pour into his own account.

In just two months, McClure, 26, siphoned off nearly £4000, but was caught after a routine scan flagged up that credits relating to more than one National Insurance number were being paid into the same bank account.

Prosecutor Rachel Wallace said: "The accused, who had worked for the Department of Work of Pensions as an administrative officer for five-and-a-half years, had accessed the child maintenance databases and entered his own bank account details into the computer system, and received funds into his own bank account.

"There were 16 separate transactions, totalling £3800."

McClure was initially suspended, then reported to the police, cautioned and charged, and then dismissed.

At Falkirk Sheriff Court yesterday (Thursday) McClure, of Polmont, pleaded guilty to carrying out the embezzlement, over a period from October 11 to December 12 in 2020.

Solicitor Murray Aitken, defending, said McClure had been "tasked by someone senior to monitor old accounts, to see if there was any movement on these accounts".

Mr Aitken said: "Payments were made into an account automatically by a non-resident parent. The DWP then made efforts to trace the other parent, to whom the payments should be going, and if there's no contact or these people can't be found, then that money simply sits on an account, waiting.

"Periodically, Mr McClure was given the task of checking various accounts to see if anyone had replied to the letters or chase-ups to see if they are going to claim their money, and if they haven't, they send out another message to them.

"Mr McClure says that all of this money had been sitting there for longer than he had been employed by the organisation.

"For over five years that money was sitting there.

"I'’m not saying that makes it any better, but it's not the suggestion that someone was waiting for a payment coming through and it didn't, because he had diverted it for his own purposes."

Mr Aitken said McClure had "his own personal difficulties", which were referred to in a social enquiry report, and when the opportunity arose, he took it.

He said the first offender, due to become a father for the first time in January, had "lost a job he enjoyed" as a result of the crime.

He said: "He knows what he did was wrong. He is genuinely remorseful and ashamed."

Sheriff Simon Collins KC said it was "a serious matter".

He said: "This was money intended to pay for the care of children."

He made a compensation order for £3800, imposed a nine week restriction of liberty order during which time McClure will have to wear an electronic ankle tag and be confined to his home between 8pm and 6am, and ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work - as an alternative to custody.