A former council employee has been sentenced to almost five years in prison after stealing nearly £900,000 from benefit claimants’ accounts.

Richard Shaw had been a member of Bolton Council’s Financial Protection Team and was found to have sent £893,296 to himself from the accounts held by the local authority between 2015 and 2023.

Mr Shaw had previously been suspended from his post following the discovery of his mismanagement of appointeeship cases. He was fired for gross misconduct in March 2023, with a two-year investigation then being carried out by the GMP and the council.

According to the investigation completed by the police’s Economic and Cyber Crime Unit, Mr Shaw had transferred money to nine of his personal accounts, as well as trying to conceal the fraud by making transfers between his clients’ accounts.

It found that he had bought a holiday home in Lancashire for £100,000, with nearly £18,000 extra being spent on garden improvements.

Mr Shaw was first arrested in 2023 on suspicion of fraud by abuse of position and money laundering, with a warrant at Mr Shaw's home that year resulting in two BMW cars and multiple high-value items, including bikes and computers, being seized.

A sum of £129,749 in unclaimed benefits had been lost due to Mr Shaw’s ‘failure to act in the best interest of his clients’, the GMP has revealed. After skipping his first crown court appearance in September last year, Mr Shaw was arrested by GMP officers and had been on remand since.

The GMP has also revealed that Mr Shaw had at first denied fraud by abuse of position, but later chose to plead guilty instead at Bolton Crown Court in December 2025.

Yesterday at Bolton Crown Court, Mr Shaw was jailed for four years and eight months.

DS Sanchez said: ‘Shaw abused his position of trust within the council, transferring clients’ money to accounts he had set up in his own name.

‘His systematic theft and haphazard spending was uncovered by our financial investigator. There will now be a Proceeds of Crime hearing to reclaim the rest of the money so the council can be reimbursed.’

A spokesperson for Bolton Council said they ‘welcome’ Mr Shaw’s sentencing, explaining that ‘cases like this are exceptionally rare and the actions of one person do not reflect a wider workforce that is conscientious, diligent, and committed to public service.’

They added: ‘Bolton Council has robust measures in place to detect, prevent and deter corruption and this crime was first uncovered via our own internal safeguards.

‘We have worked closely with GMP to build the case that has resulted in this sentence which reflects the gravity and impact of the crime committed.’

They stated that individuals have now been refunded the financial losses or benefit losses by the council.