P.F.O. LOCHMADDY Reference: P009000047
ROYAL MAIL CORPORATE SECURITY (NORTHERN)
Sheriff Police Report
CASE DETAILS
Report Received on: 21/04/2009
Lead Incident Number: NNE8 900820309
Date of First Offence: 22/07/2008
ACCUSED DETAILS
WILLIAM JOHN QUARM
SCRO No.: $51825/90T
Sex: al
Date of Birth:
Age:
In Custody:
GRO
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P.F.O. LOCHMADDY Reference: P009000047
CHARGE DETAILS
Incident: NNE8900820309
1)
2)
on between 01 October 2007 and 23/07/2008 at Paible Post Office, Bayhead
Shop, Paible, Lochmaddy, HS6 5DS you WILLIAM JOHN QUARM did steal Forty
Thousand Two Hundred and Seventy Seven Pounds Seventy Six Pence
(240,277.76) of Post Office money
KNOWNDATE: 23/07/2008 CAUTIONDATE: 07/08/2008
CHGNOTE:
on between 01 October 2007 and 23/07/2008 at Paible Post Office, Bayhead
Shop, Paible, Lochmaddy, HS6 5DS you WILLIAM JOHN QUARM did while
Subpostmaster of Paible Post Office, Bayhead Shop, Paible, Lochmaddy,
HS6 5DS embezzle Forty Thousand Two Hundred and Seventy Seven Pounds
Seventy Six Pence (?40,277.76) of Post Office money
KNOWNDAT: 23/07/2008 CAUTIONDATE: 07/08/2008
CHGNOTE:
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P.F.O. LOCHMADDY Reference: P009000047
SUMMARY
The following summary refers to an enquiry into an audit shortage discovered at Paible
Post Office (PO) Branch, Bayhead Shop, Paible, Lochmaddy, North Uist, HS$6.5DS, (Branch
code 147 869) on 23rd July 2008. The Subpostmaster for this office was/{6R0] year old
William John QUARM who had been in post since 28th February 1994. The Post Office is
located within a retail shop. Mr QUARM was assisted by Sheila ACFORD.
Subpostmasters are contracted to provide services relating to Post Office business to
customers. As such they receive a monthly remuneration commensurate with the level of
business conducted at the branch. They are provided with a balance of cash and stock
to allow them to provide these services. It is their responsibility to ensure that
this cash and stock is accounted for and is held securely at all times. Previously the
Subpostmaster had to prepare a Cash Account balance on a weekly basis. This should be
an accurate count of all cash and stock held. Latterly the process has been changed to
this Cash Account balance to be produced on a 4/5 week cycle. This is now described as
a Branch Trading Statement. Both sets of documents are described as accounting
documents and as such should be certified by the postmaster as being accurate. Copies
of these documents are held at the Post Office along with other vouchers and documents
to support the business conducted during the accounting period. Subpostmasters are
expressly forbidden by a clause in their contract to use Post Office money for their
own use.
Within each Post Office there are counter position(s) which link into a computer system
called Horizon. Each Post Office is recognised by a unique code under which all their
individual transactions are recorded. The code for Paible Post Office is 147 869.
This system records all transactions input by a counter clerk working at a counter
position against their individual office code. Each clerk logs on to the system using
his or her own User ID and unique password. The transactions performed by each clerk,
and the associated cash and stock level information are recorded by the Horizon system
in a stock unit. Once logged on, any transactions performed by the clerk must be
recorded and entered onto Horizon and are accounted for within the user's allocated
stock unit. The Horizon system provides a number of daily and weekly records of all
transactions input into it. It enables Post Office users to obtain computer summaries
for individual clients of Post Office Ltd e.g. National Savings Bank, Girobank
(Alliance & Leicester), DVLA and the Department of Work g& Pensions (DWP). The
Horizon system also enables the clerk to produce a weekly balance of cash and stock on
hand combined with the other transactions performed in that accounting period.
All branches are required to balance and complete a Branch Trading Statement at the end
of each Branch Trading Period. It is a signed declaration of the cash and stock held
at the branch at the end of the Branch Trading Period. It is a summary of the volume
and value of the receipt and payment transactions, which have been carried out in the
branch during the period on behalf of Post Office Ltd and its clients. There are
twelve Branch Trading Periods in a year, running from April through to March, and each
Period is identified by a number (TP 01, TP 02 etc). It starts on a Thursday and ends
on a Wednesday in each instance, unless either the Wednesday or Thursday clashes with a
public holiday, in which case, the Branch Trading Period is adjusted to take account of
this.
Cash and stock are held in a Stock Unit and allocated an identification letter/number
i.e. AA or 1 etc. Each Post Office Branch is unique in it?s make up off stock units.
Whereas one office may have staff sharing one Stock Unit, another may have each member
of staff assigned to an individual Stock Unit. Regardless of whether a member of staff
serves from a shared or individual stock unit, each one will have an individual User ID
and password for the Horizon computer system.
A Horizon User Id is compiled using the first letter of the first name and the first
two letters of the surname. Then a number is added, which will always be 001, unless
there is, or has been, an identical user ID. For example: The first Elvis Presley to
be a user in your office would take the user name EPROO1. If there is a second Elvis
Presley or an Ella Presley, the last number must be incremented by 1, making them
EPROO2 on the Horizon system. If a user conducts management tasks such as balancing
the office and printing reports they would normally require at least 2 User Id?s.
Therefore they would use the same letter format and then accumulate the numbers e.g.
001, 002, 003, etc.
Paible PO operates two stock units AA and ATM.
Post Office Ltd Cash Management Team highlighted the Overnight Cash Holdings at Paible
PO, were fluctuating between a few hundred to tens of thousands pounds. E-mails were
sent to various functions within Post Office Ltd and a decision was made to conduct an
Audit at Paible PO. Cash Management also provide a schedule of Overnight Cash Holdings
Pegm Shefpégiod 01/04/08 to 08/07/08.
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Production Copy of E-mail trail.
Production Schedule Paible Overnight Cash Holdings 01/04/08 ? 08/07/08.
On Wednesday 23rd July 2008 Post Office Ltd Field Advisors Doug HEED and Alex MCKENZIE
carried out an audit at Paible PO. Field Advisors are employed to examine Post Office
assets.
The result of the audit was a &£163;40,277.76.
Production Paible Audit Report 23rd July 2008 Witness HEED
Accordingly the Fraud Strand security team were advised of the audit result and the
case was allocated to Raymond GRANT to conduct further enquiries.
On Thursday 7th August 2008 Raymond GRANT interviewed William John QUARM, Subpostmaster
Paible PO. The interview took place in Paible Post Office, Bayhead Shop, Paible,
Lochmaddy, HS6 5DS. There Mr QUARM was interviewed on tape and under caution in
accordance with Scots Law. In accordance with Post Office rules Mr QUARM was offered
the opportunity to have a friend present during interview, and opted for William
MACDONALD, Brother in Law. Also present were Robert DAILY Fraud Investigator and
Jonathan BISSET Post Office Ltd, Senior Security Analyst. The interview commenced at
10.50 hours and concluded at 13.14 hours. The tapes were sealed with master tape seals
numbers 071081, 071078 and 071082.
Production Master Tape seal 071081 Interview William John QUARM 07th August 2008
Production Transcript of Taped Interview 1 William John QUARM 07th August 2008
Production Master Tape seal 071078 Interview William John QUARM 07th August 2008
Production Transcript of Taped Interview 2 William John QUARM 07th August 2008
Production Master Tape seal 071082 Interview William John QUARM 07th August 2008
Production Transcript of Taped Interview 3 William John QUARM 07th August 2008
It was explained to Mr QUARM that Jonathan BISSET was present on a training capacity.
Mr QUARM stated he had no objection to Mr Bisset?s attendance.
Initial discussions took place about office procedures and other staff member?s
responsibilities, during which Mr QUARM stated that he was the sole person who was
responsible for producing daily reports, cash declarations and producing the Branch
Trading statements.
Mr QUARM was shown a copy of a letter dated 28th July 2008 which he had sent to Brian
Trotter Contracts Manager. After being allowed to read this letter Mr QUARM
acknowledged that he was its author.
Production Letter 28/07/08
Mr QUARM was then asked to comment on its content. He restated that in autumn 2007 his
private retail business was in financial difficulty, and he decided to sell some
property assets that he had. Due to planning delays the sale was not going though as
fast as he would like and in January 2008 he approached the bank with a view of
borrowing money on anticipation of the sales going ahead. He was given agreement in
principle from the bank. Further delays meant his financial position had worsened, Mr
QUARM then said he used money from the Post Office to support his private retail side
of the business. Mr QUARM said he needed to pay for the stock for his grocery business
from his main supplier, who by this time was insisting on a weekly payment of around
&£163; 4200.
a fit™state to continue.
d wished to continue. It was explained to Mr
, then he should just say so and the interview
NT that he was fit to continue.
RANT allowed him time to do this and” cor
Mr QUARM acknowledged i
QUARM that should he?
would be suspended.
When asked how he removed the money from the Post Office Mr QUARM was at first very
hesitant to give details of how the &£163;40277.76 came to be missing.
PBageadacfok4that he would credit his Alliance and Leicester account no f
with
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sums of money equivalent to around &£163;4200 every week without putting the cash in
the till. He would then use this money by means of drawing on this account by cheque
payments to pay his suppliers.
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P.F.O. LOCHMADDY Reference: P009000047
Mr QUARM was shown various Branch Trading Statements and a schedule of the Branch
Trading Statements. Mr QUARM confirmed the statements were signed by him. He was then
asked if they were an accurate reflection of the cash and stock at the Branch at the
time of their production. Mr QUARM said they were not as he had inflated the cash on
hand figure, to match what the Horizon system said he had on hand. He said this was
done to disguise the fact that he had taken the money. Mr QUARM said no one else knew
of his actions.
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 01, 21/03/07 ? 25/04/07
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 02, 25/04/07 ? 23/05/07
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 03, 23/05/07 ? 20/06/07
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 04, 20/06/07 ? 25/07/07
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 05, 25/07/07 ? 22/08/07
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 06, 22/08/07 ? 20/09/07
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 07, 20/09/07 ? 24/10/07
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 08, 24/10/07 ? 22/11/07
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 09, 22/11/07 ? 19/12/07
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 10, 19/12/07 ? 23/01/08
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 12, 20/02/08 ? 26/03/08
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 01, 26/03/08 ? 30/04/08
Production Branch Trading Statement, Trading period 02, 30/04/08 ? 29/05/08
Production Schedule Branch Trading Statements
Mr QUARM said he did not have permission to use Post Office money for his personal use.
He stated that he always intended to replace the cash on completion of the sale of his
property. Mr QUARM was asked if he was in a position to repay the missing cash. He
stated that although the loan from the bank had now been received, he had decided to
use this money to pay other creditors, as they had been pushing him for payments. One
supplier who supplied Mr QUARM with fuel for his forecourt business had demanded
payment prior to delivery. Once the creditors had been paid there was insufficient
funds left to pay back the money stolen from the Post Office.
Mr QUARM pointed out that he had had last summer and wished this
to be taken into consideration. Mr QUARM also stated that it was his intention to sell
another piece of property in order to provide funds to repay Post Office Ltd.
Mr QUARM has admitted that since at least January 2008 he has taken advantage of his
position as Subpostmaster to use Post Office money for his own personal use and
continued doing so until the audit on 23 July 2008.
Mr QUARM declared he has assets of around &£163;300k. He said it was intention to
commission the sale of these in order to repay Post Office Ltd. To date no monies have
been repaid. The loss to Post Office Ltd currently stands at &£163;40,277.76.
There are Post Office documents available for productions which support the charges of
theft and embezzlement. In addition there is the letter from Mr QUARM dated 28th July
2008, where he states, ?I had no right to use Post Office money to prop up my business,
I have lived for the past six months in day to day expectation of a Bank Loan to make
good any Post Office shortage?. The Branch Trading statements for this six month period
do not show any shortages. In effect Mr QUARM is admitting to the production of False
Accounts.
Since the interview Mr QUARM has disclosed financial details.
* Alliance & Leicester Bank statements, Account
* Bank of Scotland statements Preference Account No. .
Preference Account..Na.
* Bank of Scotland Credit Card statements Account No.!
* Royal Bank of Scotland statements Account No.!}
Pagey4loBaak of Scotland Business Term Loan
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*
*
*
+F.O. LOCHMADDY Reference:
Royal Bank of Scotland Short Term Loan
Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage
Mortgage Endowment
Capital Bank
P60 End of Year Certificate 2007-08 Anne QUARM
The balances were noted on the following accounts.
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Alliance samp; Leicester Accoun
Bank of Scotland Preference Accoun ? &£163;3869.56 debit, 16/05/08
* &£163;10.42 credit, 24/07/08
*
* Bank of Scotland Preference Account ? &£163;6545.39 debit, 04/06/08
*
Bank of Scotland Credit Card Ac &ET63;12,969.09 debit, 07/03/08
Royal Bank of Scotland Account GRO. - &£163;35,133.25 debit, 30/07/08
It can seen from the above Mr QUARM has a substantial debt.
Production Alliance gamp; Leicester Bank statements, Account No.
Production Bank of Scotland statements Preference Account No.
Production Bank of Scotland statements Preference Account No.
Rank..a£..Scotland Credit Card statements Account No.
Production Royal Bank of Scotland statements Account No. I
Production Royal Bank of Scotland Business Term Loan
Production Royal Bank of Scotland Short Term Loan
Production Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage
Production Mortgage Endowment
Production Capital Bank Details
Production P60 End of Year Certificate 2007-08 Anne QUARM
Mr QUARM sent a covering letter dated 12/08/08 with the financial documents, declaring
his house and properties are on the market. Expected value &£163;305k.
Production Letter 12/08/08
To summarise Mr QUARM has admitted to using Post Office money to maintain his business.
He has done so by crediting his personal bank account without putting the money due in
the till. He then used the money to purchase goods and pay bills to allow his retail
business to survive. To disguise his actions, he has by his own admissions inflated
the cash in Paible Post Office at the period ends to show a balance, thus producing
false accounts. Mr QUARM has in effect admitted to the theft and embezzlement of Forty
Thousand, Two Hundred and Seventy Seven pounds and Seventy Six pence (&£163;40,277.76),
of monies belonging to the Post Office. He has stated he has done since at least
January 2008. Mr QUARM has made no attempt to blame anyone other than himself for his
actions.
I have retained the Master Tapes and all original documentation. These can be provided
for examination should they be required.
Robert DAILY 24th March 2009
Fraud Investigator
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PRODUCTIONS
A List of Productions is contained at CASE RELATED DOCUMENTS
REPORTING OFFICER DETAILS
RAYMOND GRANT
Unique No: NSE0890082 Rank: NON POLICE REPORTING OFFICER
Div No: Location: ROYAL MAIL CORPORATE SECURITY
SUPERVISORY OFFICER DETAILS
SUPERVISORY OFFICER:
Diane Matthews
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P.F.O. LOCHMADDY
WITNESS DETAILS
CIVILIAN
RAYMOND GRANT (PROFESSIONAL EXPERT
Cite Address (No alternate address
PO SECURITY & INVESTIGATION
GLASGOW MAIL CENTRE
20 TURNER ROAD
G21 1AA
Telephone:
ROBERT DAILY
Cite Address (No alternate address
SECURITY SECTION
Glasgow Mail Centre
20 Turner Road
GLASGOW
G21 1AA
Telephone:
DOUGLAS HEED
Cite Address (No alternate address
c/o Security Section
Glasgow Mail Centre
20 Turner Road
GLASGOW
G21 1AA
Telephone:
ALEXANDER MCKENZIE
Cite Address (No alternate address
c/o Security Section
Glasgow Mail Centre
20 Turner Road
GLASGOW
G21 1AA
Telephone:
POLICE
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Reference: PO09000047
OFFICIAL)
available)
Date of Birth:
Age:
Occupation:
Involvement Date:
07/08/2008
(PROFESSIONAL EXPERT OFFICIAL)
available)
Date of Birth:
Age:
Occupation:
Involvement Date:
(PROFESSIONAL EXPERT OFFICIAL)
available)
Date of Birth:
Age:
Occupation:
Involvement Date:
23/07/2008
(PROFESSIONAL EXPERT OFFICIAL)
available)
Date of Birth: - i
age: I GROI
Occupation: ‘ 4
Involvement Date:
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CASE RELATED DOCUMENTS
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P.F.O. LOCHMADDY
EXISTING CASES
SUBJECT NAME
DATE OF BIRTH:
pMILLLAM..IOHN QUARM
PF REF STATUS CLOSED
PO09000047
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Reference:
AGENCY REF
NNE8 900820309
PO09000047
DISPOSAL
SUBJECT NAME
QUARM,
WILLIAM JOHN
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BACKING SHEET
Lead Incident No.: NNE8900820309 Reporting Officer: RAYMOND GRANT
LOCHMADDY Rank: NON POLICE REPORTING
OFFICER
PI Tape: Station: ROYAL MAIL CORPORATE
SECURITY
ACTION DATE MARKING INSTRUCTIONS
Full Statements
List of Witnesses
Witnesses Cited
Good Behaviour Report
Bail Order Cancellation
Productions Lodged
Productions Released
Pre Trial On
Post Trial On
I Instructions
ACCUSED
QUARM, WILLIAM JOHN
THEFT
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Court Minutes
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Court Minutes