Mum who was 'trusted' officer manager stole £675k from company over 15 years
A 'trusted' office manager stole almost £700,000 from a company she worked at for 15 years.
Claire Reeves choose to defraud her employer by making hundreds of fake supplier payments to herself, despite being on a good salary plus annual increases and bonuses.
The 52-year-old mum from Solihull rinsed Tyseley-based Wilco Manufacturing. She even pocketed vast sums in years when other staff had to take pay cuts and the business had lost one of its biggest customers, Birmingham Live.
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Managing Martin Lane described Reeve deception as a 'hammer blow' at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday, September 11. It comes after he had to personally invest his own savings to ensure the company's survival.
Reeves was caged for four years having admitted a charge of fraud by abuse of position between May 2008 and August 2023. Reeves, of Berry Maud Lane, blamed her abusive previous marriage while friends took to the witness box to speak of her good character and how she had helped them.
But Judge Peter Cooke said they did not want to acknowledge her 'dishonest streak'. Wilco Manufacturing, located at Tyseley Industrial Estate, was described as a 'medium-sized' company which employed around 25 people and had a typical turnover of £2m to £2.5m.
Reeves started work as the office manager in 2004 and was responsible for the management of accounts, wages, supplier payments and employee contracts. Significantly, she had full access to the business's Sage accounting software and NatWest bank account.
Prosecutor Kiran Pourawal said: "Over the years the defendant proved herself capable of the role and was left to mark her own work. She was trusted by Mr Lane."
Reeves' fraud came to light after staff members informed Mr Lane she was using a company fuel card when she was not entitled to one. It prompted the director to carry out a wider investigation.
When he checked her computer while she was out of the office he found a pdf document which revealed she had been making payments to seven accounts in her own and her children's names. They were hidden amongst payments to suppliers. In total there were 770 illegal transactions totalling £675,920.23 over the 15-year period.
When Mr Lane confronted Reeves she admitted carrying out the fraud claiming she was at risk of losing her house in her divorce. When asked to put a figure on what she had taken during a formal disciplinary meeting she replied 'hundreds of thousands'.
Addressing the court Mr Lane said it was a 'hammer blow' to learn he had been 'manipulated, deceived and lied to' by someone he had worked with for nearly 20 years. He described his 'incredulity and embarrassment' at placing his faith in someone without enough 'checks and balances', adding it would have felt 'disrespectful' to monitor Reeves closer.
Mr Lane said: "I have never been angry at all. Disappointed yes. Feeling utterly let down with an overwhelming desire to ensure she didn't get away with it, absolutely. Never angry."
He told the court in 2009 staff took ten per cent pay cuts and reduced to three and four-day weeks to help the business survive the impact of the global financial crisis. That year Reeves stole £34,000 when the company's entire wage bill for the period was nearly £340,000.
Mr Lane revealed in 2013 and 2014 Wilco was reeling from losing its biggest customer, which fell into administration. He was forced to take out a large overdraft and personally invest £20,000, matched by his father, to ensure the company got by. In the same two-year period Reeves pilfered nearly £120,000 from the accounts.
She earned a salary of around £37,000 but Mr Lane claimed that with her bonuses she would have been in the top two per cent of earners in the country in 2013. Osman Osman, defending, said she was 'humilitated, ashamed' and regretted her actions.
He stated friends and family had provided references speaking of her 'exemplary' character but Judge Cooke interjected saying they 'do not want to acknowledge' Reeve's darker side. He said: "She's got a dishonest streak. You can't steal from your employers day in, day out for 15 years.
"Everyone is anxious to talk about her loving and caring side. Like everybody else there is two sides to her. Let's call a spade a spade. She's been fundamentally dishonest for a decade and a half."
At that point Reeve's family and friends made audible sounds of discontent prompting the judge to order them to 'be quiet'. Mr Osman continued, saying Reeves had to deal with the 'difficulties' of her previous marriage, adding that she had her 'demons'. He argued her divorce cost her a substantial amount of money, emphasising that she did not steal to fund a 'lavish lifestyle'.
Friend Sarah Green told the court Reeves had helped her fundraise for her teenaged son before he passed away. She insisted she was a good person and said: "Claire is really good at helping other people but just finds it really hard for people to help her."
Another friend Patricia Jones described Reeves as 'very proud' and said she had forced the defendant to see the doctor following the breakdown of her previous marriage. Passing sentence Judge Cooke made it clear to the fraudster she was going to jail, stating it was the only way 'appropriate punishment can be achieved'.
He said: "I'm not a cruel man. I want to put you out of your misery at this stage. The bottom line is, yes I'm afraid there's going to have to be immediate imprisonment. I don't want any artificial suspense."