A Nigerian pastor is starting a nine-year jail sentence for the UK’s biggest education fraud.
Pastor Sam Kayode defrauded Harberdashers’ Aske’s state schools in south London of millions of pounds, Woolwich Crown Court was told.
On a salary of just £57,000 as an accounts manager for the schools, Kayode enjoyed a luxury life of designer cars such as Mercedes, clothes and women.
Kayode, 60, who has four children and is from Ilford, East London, was “dishonest”, “greedy” and possibly even a bigamist.
Over several years he stole £4.1million of taxpayers’ cash.
When the thefts were discovered, he tried to blame his late wife Grace and a junior member of his office staff.
He wore £500 Gucci shoes and carried a Louis Vuitton briefcase, the Mail reported.
Kayode, who also worked as a pastor for London’s Christ Apostolic Church, was even asked to lecture other schools about their finances. His fraud was exposed when a school cleaner found some paperwork and alerted the new head of finance who was already suspicious about Kayode.
He was found guilty of obtaining £150,000 by theft and £3.95million by fraud. Haberdasher’s Aske’s has recovered just £800,000.
When he was Education Secretary, Michael Gove often praised the three Haberdashers’ Aske’s state schools in south-east London, run by the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation.
The state schools are not connected with the private boys’ school of the same name although all the schools arose out of the first one set up after Robert Aske, a 17th century silk merchant, left his fortune to education.
Source: Christian Today
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