A FORMER Winchester golf club professional has been forced to pay more than £200,000 after he was jailed for defrauding the club.
Steven Hunter, formerly of Mill Lane, Abbots Worthy, was jailed for five years last July for two counts of fraud against Royal Winchester Golf Club, false accounting and cheating Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
READ MORE: Winchester golf professional Steven Hunter jailed for defrauding club
He stole £109,375 in green fee payments from the club, which was established in 1888, during a five-year period from June 2013.
The false accounting charge related to diverting £343,449 of takings from his professional golf shop to his personal bank account instead of his business account to avoid paying tax.
He further cheated the public revenue by failing to declare retainer payments and VAT payments of more than £105,000 to HMRC.
On Thursday June 29, at Salisbury Crown Court, a confiscation order was made, under the Proceeds of Crime Act, for £215,294.11.
Additionally, Hunter will have to pay a victim surcharge of £120 and costs of £20,000.
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