Ross Andrew Henry, former chief financial officer of Village Roadshow's US subsidiary, has been sentenced to 30 months jail by the US District Court in Los Angeles after pleading guilty to federal charges of wire fraud and "deprivation of honest services", according to Reuters news service.

Henry wired money, supposed to be for film production costs, out of the listed cinema company's account in Los Angeles on four occasions from February 1998. The frauds - which cost Village Roadshow A$11m - were not discovered until February last year, two months after he left the company.

Henry was arrested by the FBI in March last year as he cleared customs at Los Angeles international airport.

Village's general counsel, Mr Simon Phillipson, said the company agreed that, although Henry had broken the law, he had not kept any of the money and was not a willing part of the conspiracy. At least 12 people and companies in Australia and the US were involved in the operation.

As part of Henry's plea bargain, he agreed to help Village recover the money.