Disgraced former Co-op Bank boss Paul Flowers could face jail over £100,000 fraud

The disgraced former Co-op Bank boss Paul Flowers faces a possible jail sentence after admitting a catalogue of fraud worth almost £100,000.

Flowers, 74, pleaded guilty to 18 charges after abusing his position as the executor of the will and holder of power of attorney of a woman named Margaret Jarvis, who is understood to have been a friend of his. He admitted withdrawing about £70,000 of her money in cash, and using about £34,000 of her money to buy goods and services.

He used Ms Jarvis’ money to make payments of £415 and £1,046.50 to the Wine Society, payments to P&O Cruises of £840 and £486, a sum of £491.34 to Holiday Extras, £341,33 to Hotel Domenico in Corfu, £980 to Eurostar, £1,275 to Gekay Carpets Limited, to pay for floor coverings in his own house, as well as payments of £56 and £47 to the Royal Exchange theatre in Manchester.

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The frauds he admitted totalled more than £180,000, but Manchester Crown Court heard that Flowers had submitted a basis of plea in which he accepted fraudulent activity totalling just under £100,000. Prosecutors accepted the basis, and described his crimes as a ‘gross breach of trust’. He will be sentenced in October.

“Paul Flowers, you will be sentenced for these offences on October 14, I will readmit you to your conditional bail until then,” he was told by Judge Sarah Johnston. “All sentencing options are open.”

Defence barrister Bob Elias asked for pre-sentence reports to be drawn up, noting that Flowers, who appeared in court using a walking frame, was in ‘poor health’. It is the latest fall from grace for Flowers, of Brattice Drive, Salford.

Flowers, a former