Bankrupt Hertfordshire dad jailed over dodging school fee debt
The 51 year old failed to pay more than £100,000 to St Edmund’s College and Prep School
A Hertfordshire man has been jailed after illegally transferring over £100,000 to family and friends instead of paying off school fee debt.
51 year old Gareth Sowter, from Great Amwell, was declared bankrupt in 2021 due to failure to pay more than £100,000 to St Edmund’s College and Prep School for his three sons.
Despite promising to settle these debts using a £208,000 inheritance, Sowter diverted £109,166 of the funds to other individuals, breaching insolvency laws.
His former partner, Kim Sowter, 46, received £50,000 from Gareth and used some of it for family holidays during her own bankruptcy proceedings.
At the Old Bailey on 26th March 2026, Gareth Sowter received a two-year and two-month prison sentence.
Kim Sowter was given an eight-month suspended sentence, alongside orders for 80 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation.
Chris Wood, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, highlighted the seriousness of the offence as Sowter had assured the school the inheritance would be used to clear the arrears:
“When someone is declared bankrupt, the law requires any money or assets they have to be used to repay what they owe, not to be given away to family and friends.”
Gareth and Kim Sowter enrolled their three sons at the Hertfordshire school in 2012, where termly fees vary according to the age group, leading to significant debts over the years.
Investigations revealed that Gareth Sowter started unlawfully dispersing his inheritance shortly after receiving it in December 2020.
Transfers included £21,000 to associates, £74,000 into investment accounts, and ultimately £99,999 distributed in a single day.
Kim Sowter, warned of impending bankruptcy, placed £45,000 into a new investment account to fund family holidays and make transfers to a family friend and her son.
Both were previously cautioned by the prep school about bankruptcy proceedings if fees remained unpaid, culminating in their declarations of bankruptcy in 2021.
Gareth Sowter’s earlier conviction in 2021 for VAT fraud resulted in a company director disqualification until May 2028.