A COMPANY bookkeeper who admitted forging an accountant’s signature during a £137,660 estate agency fraud has said he is sorry.

Chris Williams, aged 47, admitted three counts of forgery between June 1, 2007, and February 28, 2008.

He was given an eight-month jail term suspended for two years with an order to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work on Friday.

Co-accused Brandon Weston, former owner of estate agent Premier Places, had already admitted four counts of fraud between April 2007 and February 2009.

Weston, who was sentenced to 12 months in jail suspended for two years, had taken thousands from tenants’ ring-fenced deposit accounts then paid them back through insurances.

Williams, who made no financial gain from the fraud, forged the signature of a qualified professional on business paperwork.

In a statement, Williams, of Church Lane, Whittington, near Worcester, said: “It is with remorse that I accept my sentence to three guilty pleas of forgery. This has been a very stressful time for myself and my family and we are keen to put it behind us.”