A chartered accountant jailed for stealing more than £500,000 from his employer has lost his appeal against his conviction for offences of deception.

Phillip McCarthy, of Main Road, Colby, was jailed in August last year for three years and four months for offences carried out while working as finance manager at yacht services company Döhle.

He was released from custody on November 23, having served his time on remand.

Over the course of five years, McCarthy forged cheques, falsified invoices and made fraudulent bank transfers to his own credit card account, the Court of General Gaol Delivery was told.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and eights offences of obtaining money transfer by deception, with the total sums involved being in excess of £500,000.

By an appeal, McCarthy sought to set aside 10 of the convictions.

But Deemster Kainth dismissed his appeal, ruling it had been lodged out of time.

The Deemster said substantial injustice would not result if an extension of time was refused.

He said the appellant had pleaded guilty unequivocally, had served his sentence and was not challenging his conviction for the three most serious offences.

Deemster Kainth said that three offences involved a theft of over £380,000, adding: ’Fifty eight cheques were forged over a period of nearly five years, VAT returns falsified and duplicate invoices created.

’The remaining 10 offences together involved approximately £145,000.’

The Court of General Gaol Delivery heard how McCarthy stole funds belonging to Döhle Private Clients Limited by way of fraudulent bank transfers to pay credit cards on which he had accumulated gambling debts.

He photocopied genuine expense invoices, modifying their dates and payment details.

As part of the wider investigation into his activities with companies in or linked to the Döhle group, it was discovered that he had instructed members of staff at BVI-registered subsidiary LIL to make a number of payments into GRP, a currency exchange platform.

He then transmitted the funds onwards either to himself or to contractors who were doing renovation work to his own property.