Church treasurer faces £3M fraud allegation

The former treasurer of Spotland Methodist Church at the centre of a multi-million pound fraud investigation is awaiting a court appearance.

David Atkinson, who makes his living as an accountant, is facing allegation of fraud of up to £3M. Police are investigating claims that he deceived dozens of clients into trusting their savings with him, some of which are families who have lost their life savings with him.
Mr Atkinson, who runs the Heywood accountancy firm, PBAIS was bailed at the end of last year, and will find out on 13 March whether or not he will be charged.
Some of his alleged victims received letters in which the 58-year-old expresses remorse for his ‘unforgivable’ actions and describes a suicide bid.

The letter reads: "The investments that you made in good faith never existed. The money was used in a futile attempt to recover losses incurred by me in the hope that I could repay everyone who invested. I acted on my own in this deception. My wife and family were entirely unaware of my actions. My actions have been totally unforgivable and to any normal person unfathomable. I will remain eternally sorry for the pain and distress I have caused to each and every one of you”.

Police believe there could be up to 130 victims with some losing hundreds of thousands of pounds. One retired investor told how he had invested £80,000 with the accountant on the promise of making a £120,000 return.

He said: "For the first three months the payments came. When they stopped, we chased him and he was full of excuses. When I learned what had happened, I was gobsmacked. It has thrown our retirement plans”.

Mr Atkinson is listed as a director of more than a dozen small and medium firms.