A woman who carried out a £180,000 scam was discovered when she made one £37.80 purchase at a B&Q store. Tracy Ellis stole money from her employer - a small firm - over a period of five years for which she acted as a bookkeeper.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday that Ellis, 52, was building contractor Ingham and Garner Ltd which operated for the NHS and other public sector clients. Christopher Hopkins, prosecuting, described how Ellis, of Hall Street in St Helens, was tasked with paying invoices and looking after petty cash as part of her role, the Liverpool Echo reported.
She had become responsible on her own for the accounts from 2013, the court was told. On May 9 last year, company director Jennifer Burrows noticed that the business account had been used to complete a £37.80 transaction at B&Q in St Helens the previous day. She then confronted the defendant, as they were the only members of staff who had been entrusted with the pin number for this card.
While Ellis - who is also known as Tracy Hatton - initially “suggested it might have been another employee”, she then admitted that she had made the purchase but claimed “it had been an accident and she had mistaken the company card for her own”. This caused Ms Burrows to carry out further checks on the account, at which point she saw that the mother-of-three had repaid the sum “along with a further payment”.
An investigation was launched by the firm which discovered that a shocking £181,958.95 had been taken from her employer over the course of 139 separate transactions dating as far back as January 2017. These had been made into 12 separate accounts, including those of her family members. Ellis “phoned in sick” after the theft was first discovered, and she was later dismissed.
In a statement read out to the court on her behalf, Ms Burrow said: “It has been a really stressful experience to go through. All of us in the office were friends to Tracy. I feel quite hurt and upset. It has been a difficult process - there have been many sleepless nights.”
Mr Hopkins added: “The defendant was plainly well thought of by the company. She was highly trusted. This is a gross breach of that trust.”
Ellis, who has no previous convictions, has since “found employment at a much lower level”. Andrew McInnes, defending, told the court: “References suggest a positive good character. She has clearly been a good and supportive friend but for some reason it seems she has taken a destructive path, leading to the defendant’s shame before the court. She is terrified at the prospect of what might follow.
“She was almost living some sort of fantasy, that she had an income beyond the income she received. Her low self-esteem led to a desire to please people. There are clearly elements of escapism by buying things and giving family members money. She was drinking to excess, which clouded her judgement.
“She tells me she knew that at some point she would be caught. She has precious little left to show for it. She is extremely remorseful. She is genuinely devastated by her behaviour.
Ellis admitted fraud by abuse of position. Wearing a pink and black checked coat and glasses in the dock, she was jailed for two years and eight months.
She is set to be hauled back before the same court later this year, when she could be ordered to repay her ill-gotten gains under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Sentencing, Recorder Eric Lamb said: “You abused that trust which had been placed in you.
“You abused that position in order to enrich yourself and others. Although your actions were directed against the company, you knew all too well and all too personally the people involved - just as they knew you.
“There is, of course, a different side to your character. You are of positive good character, and there is genuine remorse. You resorted to a fantasy life at a time of low self-esteem, seeking escapism in giving gifts and drinking heavily. The impact on the company has been substantial.
“It has understandably been stressful for those remaining at the company. They are left to feel hurt and upset by what they would sense was a betrayal that had taken place.”
