Golf course manager avoids jail after defrauding club of £35,000

The popular golf course was suffering financially – and that’s when things took a turn…

A golf club manager in England has avoided jail after being found guilty of fraud.

For five of the years Jonathan Wright ran the popular Stover Golf Club, near Torquay, he would transfer money into his own bank account and cover his tracks by using fictitious invoices, according to Devon Live.

Exeter Crown Court heard that Wright’s defrauding of the golf club began in 2018 and carried on until 2023. Another method he would use was to put his personal bank details on invoices to the club’s clients.

Overall, he stole £34,539 from Stover Golf Club.

He was found out when an account manager, responding to rumors of a cashflow problem at the club, took a closer look at the books.

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Martin Salloway, who was defending 54-year-old Wright, said “he had been under stress at the time due to personal issues”.  

It was decided that due to Wright’s previous good record and prospects of rehabilitation, he was handed an 18-month suspended sentence and 100 hours of unpaid work.