Dismissed Employee Gets Jail Sentence for Contempt of Court

The High Court has sentenced a dismissed employee to three months in prison for contempt of court after he admitted breaking Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules by personal account trading; forging a letter ostensibly from his brokers; destroying evidence on his computer; and not complying with a search and seizure order. The sentence will be suspended for 18 months.

In the case of Aspect Capital Ltd v Christensen, Mr Christensen was dismissed by his employer after it became clear that he had been carrying out personal account trading. His defence centred on a broker's letter, which he later admitted he had forged himself.

When his computer was examined by a forensic computer expert, it was revealed that he had uploaded substantial quantities of confidential data to a number of personal internet accounts that he controlled.

In the light of this discovery, Aspect Capital then applied to the courts for a search and seizure order.

As he later admitted in court, Mr Christensen lied to the search party when asked if he had any confidential information belonging to his employer; lied about the content of the uploads; did not reveal that he had at least one computer which held back-up material; and swore untruthfully on...