In 1857 Leopold Redpath, formerly Registrar of the Great Northern Railway Company, was sentenced in the Central Criminal Court to transportation for life. He had been convicted of fraud against his employers and their shareholders on a truly amazing scale.
Over a period of about eight years he obtained nearly a quarter of a million pounds (about £20M in today's money) while employed at a maximum salary of only £250 a year.
How was he able to get away with it for so long?