A college that left staff and students out of pocket when it shut down without warning blamed a £500,000 financial black hole on fraud by a former employee.

London College of Wimbledon closed down on May 9, shocking students and teachers who said they were given no warning and were owed cash by the college’s directors.

The company’s own accounts for 2009, approved by directors in October 2010 and now obtained by the Wimbledon Guardian, said 140 students had arrived at the college with receipts for courses – but that it never received the cash they had apparently paid.

The accounts claim the college was “obliged” to teach these students anyway, leaving it out of pocket.

The document said the missing cash, which totalled £518,000, is thought to have been paid to a former employee of the Mansel Road college and the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA).

Merton police said allegations of fraud were investigated in 2009, but the case was later closed because of insufficient evidence.

The investigation is thought to have begun in July 2009 and closed a year later.

The UKBA, which controls immigration into Britain, said it would never take money for tuition fees from students.

Roderick Archer, a former English teacher at the college, said he was owed £1,000 in unpaid wages.

The unaudited accounts for the year ending December 31, 2009, reveal on this date the company’s liabilities were greater than its assets.

The accounts said: “The directors have reasonable expectations that the company will be able to make sufficient profits to enable it to operate for the foreseeable future.”

The college taught hundreds of mainly post-graduate foreign students subjects including English, law, computing and business.

Are you a student or employee of the college? How has this affected you? Leave a comment below, call 020 8722 6336 or email: cburnett@london.newsquest.co.uk.