Huddersfield accountant stole £250,000 from employer but does not know where it went
The former accountant at a Brighouse company has been jailed for 30 months after she admitted defrauding them out of more than £250,000 over a four-year period.
It was revealed during a hearing at Bradford Crown Court on Friday that prior to her starting work at Avocet Dye and Chemical Limited in 2010, Huddersfield woman Anne-Marie Dinsdale had already served a 12-month prison sentence for stealing tens of thousands of pounds from a previous employer.
Recorder Anthony Kelbrick was told that Dinsdale was in the process of paying back a total of £58,000 to Avocet, but he noted that she could not provide any details about how she had spent the stolen money.
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He said: “Where that money went you do not seem to know. But spent it was or most of it at least. You therefore gained significantly by your criminal acts.”
Prosecutor Abigail Langford told the court how Dinsdale, 57, had created fake invoices for stationery purchases and the payments were paid into her unsuspecting husband’s bank account. Miss Langford said the fraud was uncovered in December 2021 and Dinsdale accepted her offending when she arrested and interviewed back in early 2022.
Dinsdale, of Priestley Grove, Taylor Hill, pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud by false representation totalling £258,522.58 over a period between October 2017 and December 2021. She also admitted a related offence of possessing criminal property.
In a company victim impact statement it was said that the fraud had disrupted the business and had caused trauma and sleeplessness. The offences had added to the stress and anxiety caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and amounted to a “violation of trust” by the defendant.
Miss Langford said the crime had caused feelings of anger and upset and had been described as “a stab in the back”.
Barrister Mollie Briggs, for Dinsdale, outlined details of her client’s long-standing mental health problems and said the defendant was deeply ashamed her actions and wanted to apologise to the company. Miss Briggs said the significant delay in the case coming before the courts had had a detrimental effect on Dinsdale and a psychologist’s report had referred to her unspecified personality disorder, major depressive disorder and PTSD.
The court heard that Dinsdale had attempted to take her own life and she had been sectioned in hospital for three months. It was submitted that the offences were a form of avoidance or escapism and Miss Briggs said that her client would be extremely vulnerable in a custodial environment.
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But Recorder Kelbrick said Dinsdale had used her professional skills and understanding of accounts to take advantage of her employers. He said the victim statement detailed the sadness and disappointment of her employers at the betrayal they now felt.
The judge concluded that Dinsdale’s mental health conditions were not the cause of her offending, but he said he had to take her current situation into account in assessing the length of her prison sentence.
Recorder Kelbrick told Dinsdale: “That sentence of 30 months is one which you must serve now. It is the minimum sentence, the least sentence, which in my judgement your offending warrants and merits.”
Dinsdale will now face further proceedings next year under the Proceeds of Crime Act in a bid to get back more money for the company from her available assets.