A Leicestershire woman has been convicted of syphoning almost £200k of funds from the medical practice she was the manager of.
Kirsty Louise Whawell, 40, of Kimberley Street, Kibworth Beauchamp, near Market Harborough, admitted a charge of fraud by false representation and six charges of fraud by abuse of position when she appeared at Leicester Magistrates' Court on Monday, 2nd March 2021.
These are offences under sections 2 and 4 of the Fraud Act 2006 respectively. The maximum penalty for each offence is 26 weeks' custody and/or an unlimited fine on summary conviction; 10 years' custody and/or an unlimited fine on conviction on indictment.
Magistrates heard that Whawell took more than £184,000 from Kibworth Medical Centre over a period of six years, between 2013 and 2019.
With the likely sentence for the offences clearly exceeding the powers of the Magistrates' Court, Magistrates sent the case to Leicester Crown Court for sentencing.
Detective Constable Neil Edwards, of Leicestershire Police's economic crime unit, said: "This was a lengthy and complex investigation which first came to our attention in 2019.
"Whawell abused her position of trust in the medical centre for her own financial gain, believing that her crimes will never be uncovered.
"The evidence against her was overwhelming so she had no choice but to plead guilty to the offences."
Whalwell was granted unconditional bail until her next hearing at Leicester Crown Court on Monday, 22nd March 2021.
Update (25/8/21): Whawell has been sentenced.
No comments:
Post a Comment