Telford man ordered to repay £44,000 after theft of bar takings

A Telford man who stole over £41,000 from his employer has been ordered to repay the money to his victim.

Peter Komza, 32, a Hungarian national formerly of Lady Grove, Dawley, was given a Confiscation Order by Shrewsbury Crown Court on Friday 21 January.

He was ordered to repay a total of £44,812.60 (adjusted for inflation) with £2,082.54 due immediately.

He was previously given a 12 month prison sentence and will serve a further eight weeks if the amount due immediately is not paid within three months.

In July 2017 Komza worked as a bar manager at The Liquor Lab at Southwater Square, Telford and was responsible for banking the takings each day. In July 2018 a discrepancy of £41,487.91 was identified between the takings recorded at the till and the amount banked.

Further enquiries indicated the dates of the banking shortfalls happened when Komza dealt with the takings and banking. Corresponding deposits were made to his personal account and payments were made from that account to gambling companies.

In September 2018 Komza was arrested on suspicion of theft but denied the offence. In November 2019 he was further interviewed and admitted taking the money belonging to The Liquor Lab and using it for gambling. He was subsequently charged with theft by employee from July 2017 to September 2018.

On 13 August 2020 he pleaded guilty at Shrewsbury Crown Court and was bailed. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison on 6 July 2021.

His sentence concluded on 4 January and he is due to be deported to Hungary. He is currently being held in the UK under immigration proceedings.

Detective Inspector Emma Wright of the West Mercia Police Economic Crime Unit said: “This case demonstrates that where criminals obtain material gain from crime they will be pursued to ensure they pay back those benefits.

“Komza breached the trust of his employer to steal a large amount of money. The Court have ordered he repay almost £45,000 but he currently has only £2,000 in identified assets - this is the amount he must pay immediately or face further time in prison.

“The remaining amount stays outstanding by Komza for life, until the total amount is repaid. Therefore should he be identified as having any further assets in the future, including any held abroad, a further order will be sought until the total amount is repaid.”