Council worker who stole over £1m from employer is “cautionary tale” for local authorities

Aberdeen: A former tax collector really messed up by stealing over £1 million from the city council. Michael Paterson took advantage of his job at Aberdeen City Council for 17 years, starting back in 2006.

He made 622 fake refunds to himself, using the money for fancy holidays, dining out, and even Apple products. It’s wild how he had free rein over two computer systems without anyone checking in on him.

Things started to unravel when a colleague noticed something fishy and reported it. Paterson was caught and ended up in jail for four years after admitting to the theft.

Now, the council is on the hook to recover the lost funds without hitting taxpayers. The Accounts Commission for Scotland is urging local councils to tighten up their fraud prevention measures.

They pointed out that while Aberdeen had some systems in place, they weren’t followed properly, which let Paterson’s scheme go unnoticed for so long.

A year after the charges, the council still hasn’t fully addressed the issues. The Commission is pushing for better checks and balances to keep public money safe.

Andrew Burns from the Commission called this a cautionary tale for all councils in Scotland. He emphasized that it’s not enough to just have controls; they need to be actively monitored and tested.

He also praised the staff member who blew the whistle, highlighting how important it is for employees to feel safe reporting suspicious activities.

An Aberdeen City Council spokesperson said they’ll be looking closely at the Commission’s findings and will bring a report to the council for review.