A former media executive turned bookkeeping franchisee has had his franchise terminated after an investigation placed him at the centre of $8m fraud case.

John Michael Fitzgerald, who operated as commercial programming manager for the Seven Network is accused of creating fake businesses to siphon money from the media company. According to police, Fitzgerald issued hundreds of invoices to Seven between 2002 and 2016.

It’s also alleged that in the later years the former commercial programming manager logged into Seven’s IT system with another employee’s details and submitted almost $800,000 worth of fraudulent invoices from businesses he’d created.

Police say the money paid out during the lengthy ruse totalled $8.02m, however, in Burwood Local Court on Thursday, solicitor Phillip Ryan said his client paid the money back in full in May 2018, three months before the criminal investigation began.

Accountancy franchise terminated

Since leaving Seven, Fitzgerald has been operating a Shoebox Bookkeeping franchise with his wife in Parramatta.

Reports indicate he had been working along a small Sydney Fashion firm, with his solicitor revealing Fitzgerald’s boss was aware of the court matter.

“Being such a small company, the chances of him being involved again is greatly reduced,” the lawyer said.

However, following his arrest on Wednesday, Shoebox Bookkeeping cut all ties with the troubled franchisee. The company acted swiftly to the development, opting to have the franchise terminated.

“Shoebox Books has today terminated the business’s Parramatta franchise. The franchisee, John Fitzgerald, was arrested this morning by police,” Shoebox said in a statement posted to its website.

Shoebox Bookkeeping suggested Fitzgerald’s actions may have damaged the reputation of the brand, adding that it took the matter extremely seriously.

“The franchisee must not act in a manner which prejudices the goodwill or reputation of the franchisor. Shoebox has terminated the franchise for the Parramatta area forthwith,” the statement read.

“We want to reassure our customers and franchisees that we take this matter extremely seriously. Shoebox is monitoring this matter closely and are in the process of contacting franchisees and customers to answer any questions.”

Fitzgerald was released on bail, following a $70,000 surety submitted by his wife.

Additional reporting: Luke Costin, AAP