Accountant who spent £160k of company money on escorts agrees to pay back bosses
A married accountant who spent around £160,000 of company money on escorts, one of whom also starred in pornography, has agreed to pay back his bosses £500,000 in compensation.
Mohammed Asif Khan, 45, was accused of “stealing” about £1.1 million of company money while working for North of England Coachworks, the North East’s biggest vehicle bodyshop.
The company said “self-styled director of finance” Mr Khan splashed about £160,000 on payments to escorts, including £56,000 to a £1,000-an-hour call girl, Gemma Massey, once dubbed Britain’s best-paid porn star.
While the married father of two admitted his “shame” after using company money to pay prostitutes, he insisted he did nothing wrong as his bosses knew how he was spending the money and were happy with the arrangement.
But Mr Khan has now agreed to pay the company £500,000 following the civil action in the High Court, while accepting he owes the money “in respect of the frauds and fraudulent breaches of trust as alleged against him in this action”.
Judge Dexter Dias KC heard Mr Khan, from Newcastle, worked for North of England Coachworks until 2019 as the company accountant.
But when serious irregularities with cheque payments and money transfers were noticed in 2019, he was quizzed and resigned, the firm’s barrister Sam Neaman said.
He said investigations revealed that Mr Khan had been using company cheques and transfers to pay for things that were not for the company’s benefit.
The net loss to the company was about £1.1 million, he said, with an estimated £160,000 of that going to named women, including about £56,000 to Ms Massey and her company alone.
“It is not just names, you will see an awful lot of information from the internet which establishes what these ladies did for a profession,” he said. “She is obviously one of many.”
The court previously heard that Ms Massey, a former dental nurse and beautician, was “self-described as a high-class escort” on a web page put forward as part of the case.
Ms Massey is an OnlyFans model and once boasted to the BBC of being Britain’s highest-paid porn actress.
Defending the claim against him, Mr Khan insisted that he did not do anything his employers did not approve of, although he admitted paying escorts.
He claimed that much of the money that was taken from the company was in repayment of “loans” he had made to it when there were cashflow problems.
“I was giving them money when they had major cash issues,” he told the judge. “Within that time period, I gave them £800,000.”
But Mr Neaman said that, even offset by the amount he had put into the company, it was still £1.1 million out of pocket.
Mr Khan said some of the money was a “bonus” he was entitled to and came as part of an unusual way of paying him.
Addressing Mr Khan, Judge Dias said the company’s case was that he had “stolen about £1 million”.
“Is it your case that the company gave you permission to spend money on prostitutes?” he asked.
Mr Khan replied: “Not specifically for that, but they were aware. In reality, they didn’t care what I spent that money on.
“The G Massey name was on there. They knew that was what I was doing.”
The judge asked: “Why would a company be happy for you to spend so much money on prostitutes?”
Insisting that he was entitled to use company money that way, Mr Khan replied: “In reality, it was my money.
“The company didn’t care what I spent that money on. The agreement we had was I could spend that money; that was mine.
“Unlikely as it sounds, they were aware of where that money was going. That was the truth.”
The High Court battle has been ongoing since 2019, with a trial of the company’s claim finally beginning last month.
After an adjournment, it was due to resume this week, but the two sides reached an out-of-court agreement to end it before the judge could make his ruling.
Under the agreement, Mr Khan agreed by consent that judgment be entered against him in favour of the company in the sum of £500,000, which he must pay by 4pm on Aug 6.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the parties agree that the first defendant’s liability hereunder is in respect of the frauds and fraudulent breaches of trust as alleged against him in this action,” the judge’s consent order states.
Mr Khan also agreed under the terms of the consent order to pay the company’s legal costs of the case, “to be assessed by detailed assessment if not agreed”.
A freezing order on Mr Khan’s assets will continue in force until he has paid the £500,000, at which point the company will ask for it to be discharged.