A husband allowed his fraudster wife to pay £46,000 she had stolen from one of Wales' best-known restaurants into his bank account. He played a role in facilitating his partner in defrauding £150,000 from The Hardwick restaurant in Abergavenny where she worked.
Simon Nightingale, 50, assisted Nicola Nightingale, 47, in her theft from the top restaurant owned by chef Stephen Terry where she worked as an office administrator. She transferred money from The Hardwick's business account to her own account as well as accounts belonging to her husband and her daughter.
A trial at Cardiff Crown Court heard Nicola Nightingale was responsible for accounting and finances at the restaurant including paying wages to staff and paying suppliers. Addressing the jury at the start of Simon Nightingale's trial prosecutor Thomas Stanway said: "This case concerns the defendant holding fraudulent money in his bank account that had been transferred by his wife while she was committing fraud at The Hardwick restaurant."
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During her employment, between February 2018 and March 2020, Nicola Nightingale carried out the fraud by creating false invoices taking out loans in the restaurant's name and and inflating her own wages. The court heard a total of 55 transactions were made to Simon Nightingale's account between May 21, 2018, and February 1, 2019, from the business account of The Hardwick where he also did casual work. The total amount from the transactions came to £46,741.57. Bank statements were obtained, which showed money leaving The Hardwick's account and entering the defendant's account.
Nicola Nightingale resigned from her position and both she and her husband were interviewed by police. Simon Nightingale gave police a prepared statement placing the blame on his wife. He said she had access to his account and dealt with the finances in their household. The defendant also said his wages from The Hardwick were not paid "through the books" and claimed some of the transactions were legitimate.
Members of the jury were told Nicola Nightingale had pleaded guilty to fraud at an earlier hearing. On Friday Simon Nightingale was found guilty of possessing criminal property following a trial.
Recorder Barry Clarke adjourned Nightingale's sentencing hearing for a pre-sentence report to be prepared. He remanded the defendant on conditional bail until March 17 when he will be sentenced alongside his wife. He told Nightingale, of Blenheim Road, Deal, Kent, that his remand on bail did not give any indication to the sentence.
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