Fraudster used online accountancy software to siphon money
An accountant has been jailed for stealing money from a Norwich business using online accountancy technology
An accountant has been jailed for stealing money from a Norwich business using online accountancy technology
AN ACCOUNTANT has been jailed after she was caught stealing money through an internet-based accountancy system she set up.
Sarah Coles pleaded guilty to fraud and was jailed for two years at Norwich Crown Court. She stole £17,500 from her employer and faked documents to live out a fantasy of owning a £1m mansion, The Daily Mail reports.
Cole began working for Ashfords, a grounds maintenance firm in Norwich in 2011, on a part-time basis earning a little more than £10,000. While there she convinced the company to move to an online accounting system which would save it time. However, she used the system to transfer £17,561 to her own account.
She rented a luxury home from a couple later claiming she wanted to buy it from them. However, that couple is now thousands of pounds in debt from legal fees on work carried out to arrange the sale, lost rent and repairs to the house.
In Norwich Crown Court it was claimed that Cole’s husband was forced to give up work due to ill health and she began drinking, causing her to become delusional.
“She became delusional that the money would come back,’ Mr Goodman told the court. ‘Rather than a cynical fraudster she had a genuine belief that money would eventually come back to her,” said her solicitor Jonathan Goodman.
Ashfords has said the impact of her fraud on the business has brought it to its knees as well as damaging its reputation.
More about:
The numbers you crunch tell a story. Your expertis...
11yEmbracing user-friendly AP systems can turn the tide, streamlining workflows, enhancing compliance, and opening doors to early payment discounts. Read...
View articleOrganisations can enhance their financial operations' efficiency, accuracy, and responsiveness by adopting platforms that offer them self-service cust...
View articleIn a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...
View resourceDiscover how AP dashboards can transform your business by enhancing efficiency and accuracy in tracking key metrics, as revealed by the latest insight...
View article“Cold and aloof" accountants may be more suited to high-pressure financial controller roles, a university has claimed Read More...
View articleRevenues in EY's UK & Ireland fraud investigation and dispute services division expected to hit £100m Read More...
View articleDennis Christopher Carter Lunn, known as Christopher is expected to receive a custodial sentence Read More...
View articleDennis Christopher Carter Lunn, known as 'Christopher', inflated fees and used fraudulent trading losses in order to evade tax Read More...
View articleAlan Goddard charged clients VAT, but pocketed proceeds Read More...
View articleWolverhampton accountant Gail Henshall submitted false self-assessment claims worth £296,000 Read More...
View articleEkaireb is the father of multi-millionaire Robert Ekaireb who was jailed for life in 2014 for the murder of his Chinese-born pregnant wife in 2006 Rea...
View articleOwners of Birmingham City FC 'concerned' that its former auditors failed to spot a suspected £2.5m misappropriation of funds Read More...
View article