Navy Commander Jailed For Fraud
A Royal Navy commander's been jailed for six months after being found guilty of nine charges of dishonestly claiming £53,000 in allowances to send his two children to an exclusive boarding school.
Commander Anthony Gray claimed the money when he was not entitled to because he had split from his wife and was therefore no longer the ''prime'' carer of the two children.
The 49-year-old nuclear submarine expert, who is based at MOD Abbey Wood in Bristol, was convicted at the court martial at Portsmouth Naval Base of the fraudulent claims made between July 2008 and March 2010 totalling £52,999.40.
Gray was also dismissed from the service and told to pay back the full amount of the claims.
Sentencing him, Judge Advocate Alistair McGrigor said:
''This was a gross breach of trust against the Royal Navy such as you cannot remain as an officer in the Royal Navy and you should therefore be dismissed.''
Speaking on behalf of the board of senior officers which tried the case and determined the sentence, he added: ''We understand the devastating consequences on you and your family.
''The clang of the prison door will be your greatest punishment.''
The court heard that Gray will still be entitled to an annual pension of £32,000 and a lump sum of £96,000 on leaving the service.
Judge McGrigor explained that they viewed Gray's claims to have been made fraudulently when he started paying child support allowance (CSA) for his daughter which would have meant that he was no longer the main carer for his children.
He added that Gray would have ignored clear warnings about the consequences of making inaccurate claims when applying for the expenses.
