The boss of a charity is currently on the run after pinching £150,000 from it - effectively rendering it "out of business".
"Greedy" Donna Wells fled the country to Turkey after pleading guilty to several offences relating to the theft last year, and has not been seen since.
The businesswoman transferred thousands from her employers' bank account into that of her friend's butty van, as well as swiping cash and purchasing gift vouchers for herself using the company credit card, Liverpool ECHO reports.
The 40-year-old from Runcorn, Cheshire, pilfered a total of £159,862 from Young Addaction Halton - a charity in dedicated to helping young people recover from drug addiction - over a 20 month period in 2018 and 2019, a court heard on Monday.
Prosecutor Simon Christie said Wells joined the charity in 2014 and had been in a "position of trust", which included approving invoices.
But her crimes came to light in 2020 when a whistleblower found that she had been exploiting this trust by making dozens of bogus transfers into business accounts linked to her and her friend's husband Francis Jones.
This included 17 invoices to her co-defendant's mobile catering company, Jones' Butty Bar, totalling £42,800 - £28,100 of which was then sent back to her personally.
Other payments were made to a beauticians, with little or no evidence of services having been provided by the businesses in question.
Wells, who was suspended amid the probe and later resigned from her position, also duped a sports company into paying back sums which had transferred into its account for her benefit.
She also "raided" petty cash stocks and completing several thousands pounds of unwarranted purchases on the credit card, many involving gift vouchers where there was no record why they were purchased or who they were given to.
Mr Christie said that the "impact on the charity had been dramatic in the extreme", with Wells' actions "effectively putting it out of business" after Halton Borough Council opted not to renew its contract with Addaction following the revelations.
Colleagues described feeling the "finger of suspicion falling on them" while the lengthy enquiries progressed.
Meanwhile, services provided by the organisation were described as subsequently being "of a lesser quality" due to the financial impact of her crimes.
This included trips out being "scaled back" and the cancellation of its Christmas panto visit, with staff being forced to beg a chip shop for free bags of chips for service users.
Wells - of Bridgeway East in Windmill Hill, Runcorn - previously pleaded guilty to several offences and was released on bail ahead of her scheduled sentencing on December 2 last year.
But a warrant was issued for her arrest when she failed to appear on that date.
Enquiries have since revealed that the fraudster flew to Istanbul from Manchester Airport on the afternoon of November 30, then took an onward flight to the port city of Bodrum.
Mr Christie said that this was "where it is suggested she still resides", with Wells having family including her mum in Turkey.
The defendant was previously convicted of theft by employee and fraud in 2007, receiving a conditional discharge on this occasion.
Anthony O'Donohoe, defending, told the court: "My impression was of an intelligent but complicated woman.
"She was in an unhealthy relationship with someone who could be described as coercive. It was understood that she was put under pressure by a third party to act in this dishonest fashion."
Wells admitted fraud by abuse of position, fraud and money laundering. She was jailed for four years in her absence.
Sentencing, Recorder Andrew McLoughlin said that she had used taken the funds to "live well beyond her means" and had also "stolen opportunities from the young people of Halton".
He added: "She decided to use her position of power to exploit her management position.
"It is clear that this was simply greed on her part. There is no evidence at all to suggest she was in financial difficulties.
"Addaction was trusted by the local authority to help those most in need. Through no fault of the organisation itself, but of one individual within, significant reputation damage has been caused to it.
"I am satisfied that Donna Wells' fraudulent activity was a significant factor in the local authority dispensing with the services of Addaction. My overarching view is that this is someone only interested in themselves."
The court previously heard that dad-of-two Jones, of Woodridge in Runcorn, had bought a van for his business from his sister but ultimately amassed a £12,000 debt and was declared bankrupt in September 2020.
Recorder McLoughlin told him that he had been "drawn into this for easy money" as he sentenced him to 15 months in prison suspended for two years and ordered him to carry out 100 hours unpaid work, the taxi driver having pleaded guilty to money laundering.
