X-Factor accountant jailed for £599K fraud

An ACCA-qualified accountant who defrauded a former X Factor winner of £599,000 in order to fund a gambling habit has been jailed for four years.

Mark Livermore worked for Raff Music Ltd, the company set up by James Arthur who won The X Factor in 2012 and has had hits including Impossible and Say You Won't Let Go.

In December last year Livermore admitted one charge of fraud at a trial at Westminster Magistrates Court, following an audit which identified unexplained activities on Arthur’s bank account.

The court was told Livermore moved funds to other accounts without the singer’s knowledge or permission, in order to pay for his spread betting addiction. He pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position on or before April 2018.