![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_jason-lowe.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSkipton man Jason Lowe funneled more than \u00a3500,000 from the company, where he had been employed since 2016<\/p>\n
A North Yorkshire web developer siphoned a firm’s funds into cryptocurrency to fuel a gambling addiction. Jason Lowe, responsible for online marketing at a window manufacturing company, funneled more than \u00a3500,000 from the firm over the course of eleven months.<\/p>\n
He converted company credit card transactions into cryptocurrency and used the digital currency to gamble on sites. The business, structured as an employee-owned trust, where staff owned shares and benefitted from profit rewards, suffered not only direct financial losses but also a breakdown of trust among its employees.<\/p>\n
His crimes came to light when the Lancashire-based company\u2019s finance department flagged an unusually large amount of payments to two businesses named ‘Meteorbrand’ and \u201cPPC Guru\u201d, prompting an internal inquiry. A police investigation later linked the companies to Lowe, who had been employed there since 2016.<\/p>\n
In addition to the stolen funds, the company incurred nearly \u00a380,000 in indirect costs while investigating the fraud and attempting to uncover the full extent of the deception. The volume of money flowing through Lowe\u2019s personal bank accounts raised red flags with his bank, particularly large sums received via PayPal. When questioned, Lowe claimed the money was from the sale of his business, despite that transaction having occurred in 2021.<\/p>\n
A representative of the company described in the company\u2019s impact statement how Lowe\u2019s actions eroded internal trust, and caused severe stress among staff because of the severity of the situation and because of Lowe\u2019s \u201clies and false accusations.\u201d<\/p>\n
It further highlighted how the stolen money could have been invested in new machinery and growth initiatives. Instead, Lowe\u2019s betrayal left a trail of financial damage and emotional distress. North Yorkshire<\/a> Police\u2019s Economic Crime Unit launched an investigation after receiving an Action Fraud report in February 2024.<\/p>\n Lowe, aged 39, of Brougham Street, Skipton, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position of trust, committed between March 2023 and February 2024. On 28 November, he was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court to 33 months in prison. A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing is scheduled to follow, aiming to recover stolen assets.<\/p>\n Following sentencing, the lead investigation officer Detective Constable Neil Brodhurst of North Yorkshire Police\u2019s Economic Crime Unit, said: “We are pleased with the custodial sentence handed down to Lowe, who shamelessly abused his position of trust to fund a gambling habit. Even though the stolen funds were converted into cryptocurrency, we were able to trace the transactions and prove how he benefited.<\/p>\n \u201cFraud is never a victimless crime, and this case highlights the wider ripple effect of Lowe\u2019s actions – undermining morale, trust, and financial stability across the workforce. We hope that today\u2019s sentence sends a clear message to anyone intent on committing such crimes: abuse of trust will be uncovered and dealt with severely.”<\/p>\n If you suspect you’ve been the victim of fraud or have information about a potential fraudster, contact the police and Action Fraud. Visit our Advice about fraud<\/a> page for more information.<\/p>\n Addiction help signposting<\/p>\n If you or someone you know has been affected by addiction, you can call your local substance misuse services for support.<\/p>\n ACT Middlesbrough substance misuse services 01642 726800Thrive (we are with you) Redcar 01642 265532-Change grow live Stockton 01642 673888STRIDE We are with you Darlington 01325 809 810START – Substance Misuse Service Hartlepool (01429) 285000North Yorkshire horizons,(Great Ayton) Northallerton 01723 330730<\/p>\n Go<\/a> here<\/a> for the latest Teesside breaking news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Skipton man Jason Lowe funneled more than \u00a3500,000 from the company, where he had been employed since 2016…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,1343,59,70966,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-292190","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-courts","10":"tag-gb","11":"tag-north-yorkshire","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}