Dropout stole from pal's company
5:57pm Thursday 24th July 2008
A Kingston University dropout who stole £3,600 from his friend’s chauffeuring business faces prison for betraying his trust.
Thomas Mustoe, 24, the son of a wealthy managing director, was offered a job at PR Cars in Chessington by his friend Peter Rowland to help him “get a foot on the ladder” after his educational path failed and he got hooked on cannabis, Kingston Magistrates' Court heard today.
Mustoe admitted stealing money almost every week when he was asked to deposit it at the bank in Kingston. He either took money out of envelopes and amended the totals or stole entire envelopes of cash, the court was told.
Between October 2, 2007 and July 1, 2008, he took £3,612.18 from Mr Rowland’s newly formed company, the court heard. His thefts were noticed earlier this month when the accounts did not add up.
Mustoe also admitted stealing £519.10 from Mr Rowland’s sister Karen Rowland while depositing money for her beauty company Hidden Beauty 4 U, and £263 from another sister Clare Rowland when banking her dance school takings, the magistrates were told.
Mustoe, a former Kingston Grammar school pupil who was asked to leave when his grades slipped, finished his A-levels at a college in South Kensington and only got a place at Kingston University after lying about his results, the court heard.
But after developing a £20-a-day cannabis habit, he could no longer cope with the work and dropped out in 2002. He pretended he was still at university to his parents, who he lives with in Salisbury Gardens, Wimbledon, and took up a job at Blockbuster video shop to fund his drug habit, magistrates were told.
Defence solicitor Mike Nicholson said Mustoe was afraid to admit his failings after his father, a former managing director at Sony, had developed a debt problem and lost his job.
He said: “He comes across as articulate and well bred but he has got himself into a terrible situation.”
Mustoe will be sentenced on August 26, after returning from a holiday to Los Angeles which he borrowed £500 from friends to pay for.
Lead magistrate Rachel Lipscomb condemned his actions and said: “I imagine the victims will take a very dim view on him going on holiday when he owes them compensation.”
Victim Peter Rowland said it was a difficult decision to shop his friend to police but added: “We did nothing but try to help him. Even when we found out there was a problem I vowed it was not him because he was a friend.”