A charity shop manager fiddled receipts in an effort to conceal her hand being dipped into the till.
Jodie Walker, 36, of Tithe Barn Court, Newark, admitted a charge of false accounting when she appeared at Chesterfield Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, 8th September 2020.
False accounting is an offence under section 17 of the Theft Act 1968. It has a maximum penalty of 7 years' custody on conviction on indictment; 26 weeks' custody on summary conviction.
The court heard that Walker had been employed to run the Peaceful Trust charity shop in Shirebrook in 2018. Shortly after her appointment trustees of the charity noticed a sharp decline in takings and started to monitor her activities more closely.
Angela Hadfield, prosecuting, said: "It appears that what she was doing was altering receipts to show a smaller amount than had actually been taken.
"It's difficult to put a firm figure on the actual amount because we don't know how long it was going on for."
By the time Walker was dismissed in July 2019 the Peaceful Trust could only establish that £111.88 had gone missing, but it estimates the true losses could be closer to £2,000.
Karl Meakin, mitigating, said: "It's a very regrettable matter which she is ashamed of.
"At the time of the offence her long-term partner was addicted to Class A drugs and there was sometimes a need for quick cash to help the family home and there was pressure put on her to supplement the relatively meagre income coming into the home."
Mr Meakin added that Walker's partner was now receiving treatment for his drug addiction and efforts had been made to repay some of the losses to the charity.
Walker was previously convicted of a similar offence in 2010.
District Judge Andrew Davison, sentencing, told Walker: "A second offence of stealing from an employer can lead to prison.
"You need to leave here in no doubt that a third conviction will lead to prison."
Walker was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 160 hours' unpaid work requirement.
She was also ordered to pay compensation in the sum of £111.88, victim surcharge of £85 and prosecution costs of £85.
Offences of dishonesty, particularly when they involve an abuse of trust, really annoy me.
What kind of a person steals not only from their employer, but also from a charity?
No comments:
Post a Comment