Fraud victim to face new blow (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Fraud victim to face new blow

Margaret Cross who fleeced Mr Keeping and his haulage firm out of £164,000PENNILESS fraud victim John Keeping is devastated after learning that the woman responsible for his ruin is filing for bankruptcy.

If the application is successful, Mr Keeping, 62, will not receive a penny in compensation.

Fraudster Margaret Cross a former administration assistant fleeced Mr Keeping and his haulage business out of £164,000.

In court, it emerged that she used company cheques belonging to Keeping Transport Limited to fund a life of luxury.

Cox was given a two-year jail sentence in 2003 but served just four months behind bars.

According to bankruptcy papers seen by the Advertiser, Cross is living with relatives in Scunthorpe.

Today Mr Keeping, of Swindon Road, Stratton St Margaret, lives on £105 a week and can afford only one meal a day.

"I feel totally let down by our so-called justice system," he said. "I am totally skint. How can someone get away with this?

"The business started in 1975 and I built it up steadily over the years. At one point we had an annual turnover of £2.5 million and had big contracts with the likes of Motorola and Dyson.

"Now it's all gone. I am ruined. I have had to re-mortgage my home to pay the legal fees and it looks like I may be repossessed soon."

Mr Keeping, who has sought counselling, says his world is crumbling around him.

Around the same time the fraud was being committed, his wife Sally died of cancer.

"I have thought about driving my car off the top of a car park," he said.

"I was prescribed anti-depressants but they have made me feel even more down. I am just so angry. My granddaughters have lost their inheritance over this too.

"My eldest one, Kimberley Evans, 22, was due to get £21,000 on her 21st birthday." All 27 members of his staff lost their jobs.

"She (Cross) was responsible for all those people losing their jobs," said Mr Keeping.

"They trusted her and so do I. We were all betrayed by this woman."

Slough-based chartered accountants Oury Clark are handling the application. A creditors' meeting has been arranged for July 15 and Mr Keeping will attempt to block the bankruptcy.

"I will be seeking all the money I have lost and £10 million compensation," he said.

"Hopefully, with that in the background the bankruptcy will not be allowed to happen."

Kevin Shoesmith