Woman who swindled firm of £52k jailed for two years

A 47-year-old woman who abused her position of trust by swindling more than £52,000 from her Warrington based employer has been jailed for two years. 

Kathleen Roberts from Ashley Court in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire was sentenced at Chester Crown Court after being convicted of fraud by abuse of position.

Over a period of eight years Roberts, who was an accounts manager for Taylor Business Park in Warrington, had been obtaining money from the petty cash and using the funds for fuel, domestic items for herself and taking the money and creating false invoices for work never carried out on site. Over the years Roberts stole £52,155.90 from the company.

Paul Taylor, Managing Director of Taylor Business Park said: “We feel that justice has been done here and the local police, led by Mike Luckett on this case, have been fantastic in helping us see this through. To find that an employee that you have trusted for so many years has been stealing from you is devastating. Mike helped us take a step back and focus on gathering the required evidence to see this taken to court with such a favourable outcome.

“We could have begun to understand Kate’s motivation if she had stolen from us out of necessity, but when you look at some of the items that she bought with the money: Nandos vouchers, phone top up cards, beds, sofa beds, garden furniture, handbags and fashionable clothing, then it’s apparent that this was a crime driven by nothing more than basic greed and a total lack of self-control.

“The investigation that we carried out caused months of disruption and it would appear that the £52,000 that Kate has admitted responsibility for was just the tip of the iceberg. That said, we’re happy to move on from here and draw a line under all of this. It’s been a vicious learning process on our part but I imagine that Kate would be saying similar right now.”

PC Mike Luckett said: “Roberts relied on her position of trust to siphon money from the business. I’m sure that her time behind bars will bring home the consequences of her actions. I’m pleased to see that all our hard work has resulted in this successful conviction and sends a message to those tempted by their position that crime definitely doesn’t pay and you too could end up sitting in a prison cell.”