A former Northern Automotive Systems employee was sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of fraud in Cardiff Crown Court today.

Jason Alexander, 39, from Griffithstown was arrested in July 2014 for abusing his position as Purchasing Manager at the company, based in Gilwern, and using company money to pay for personal goods and fuel.

Mr David Pugh for the prosecution told the court that the first count of fraud was for using the company fuel card for personal use, amounting to £1911.13 from July 2012 to April 2013. The second count of fraud was for the misuse of the company credit card for personal items such as iPads, iPods, concert tickets and kindles, amounting to £90,952.21 between October 2010 and April 2013.

Alexander changed the names and companies on invoices for his purchases to hide his crimes, and it was also noted to the court that he sold on many of the goods to other employees, which Judge Stephen Hopkins QC claimed that Alexander has deemed as 'some kind of philanthropic act.'

Alexander had also forged signatures of two fellow employees when signing for the fuel he was taking for his own personal use in what was described by the judge as a bid to "hide his accountability."

Alexander was first questioned in December 2013 where he denied any wrongdoing. He was later arrested in July 2014 and confessed he was guilty.

Mr Owen Williams for the defence asked the judge to take into consideration Alexander's early guilty plea, and his good work ethic. He also noted that he was only able to do these acts due to the fact that he was trusted by people, and hoped that this trust would be reflected on in the judge's decision.

Alexander was sentenced to two years in prison, where he will serve half of the sentence and remain on parole for the remainder of his sentence.

DC Glyn Mason from Gwent Police said after the sentence, "It's only right that Jason Alexander received a custodial sentence for his offences; he abused his position of trust and responsibility to defraud and steal from the company where he was a valued employee. Some people think crimes against businesses are victimless, however, there is always a victim when someone makes such financial gains from criminal activity."

For more information see next week's Chronicle