JK Rowling and the chocolate bar of secrets
Her PA is found guilty of stealing £19k – after being caught out buying treats that the Potter author hates!
It was a sweet ending to a story worthy of one of her novels – packed with twists and turns, skulduggery and intrigue.
JK Rowling’s dislike of chocolate and her husband’s allergy to perfume helped nail the multi-millionaire author’s former personal assistant for stealing nearly £19,000.
the Harry Potter writer, 53, whose novels include the Chamber of Secrets, sacked ‘brazen liar’ Amanda Donaldson, 35, for gross misconduct and accused her of going on a personal spending spree with her money.
A detailed financial investigation of spending on the office credit card over a three-year period exposed the PA as a liar – and provided an intriguing glimpse into the personal life of the very private Miss Rowling.
Donaldson was accused of using a company credit card to spend thousands on high-end cosmetics and two cats. Airdrie Sheriff Court heard she also took £7,742 from an office safe. Miss Rowling sued the PA in the civil courts on ‘a matter of principle’ and won yesterday. Sheriff Derek O’Carroll ordered Donaldson to repay £18,734.
His 68-page judgment provided a number of details about the author’s lifestyle. It emerged Miss Rowling knew that £117 spent in a Marks and Spencer food hall could not be her bill as it included ‘pre-prepared meals’ which she ‘would never buy’.
the judgment said: ‘She does the weekly family shop and it is not the kind of food she would buy.’ A number of receipts were for chocolate – said by Donaldson to be gifts for young fans. the sheriff said: ‘ the pursuer [Miss Rowling] does not eat chocolate and she would never send chocolate or foodstuffs to fans.’ the £3,629 Donaldson spent at perfume chain Molton Brown was described as ‘extraordinary.’ Miss Rowling ‘does not like’ toiletries from the store and ‘finds them overly-perfumed,’ said the sheriff.
‘Furthermore, her husband, Dr [Neil] Murray is allergic to strong perfumes and so she would never buy them for home or office use.’ Spending over £1,000 on reed diffusers from Molton Brown in a single day was also down to Donaldson rather than her boss.
However, it was revealed that Miss Rowling was happy to spend £250 on a single candle from Jo Malone. In total £2,460 was spent at stationery shop Paper tiger. But the court was told Miss Rowling ‘has her own specially-printed personal stationery which she uses to write to her fans’ and she usually composes ‘ personal letters’ rather than cards. It also emerged that she regularly dines at the Michelin- starred Castle terrace restaurant in Edinburgh. Donaldson claimed she spent £400 on a deposit at the restaurant for a Christmas staff lunch, but in reality the money had gone ‘ into her pocket,’ the court was told.
the judgment confirmed Miss Rowling did give instructions for £850 to be paid towards the £1,200 cost of two cats.
Donaldson had been accused of stealing Harry Potter merchandise worth more than £3,200 which was intended for sick and dying children, but the sheriff ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove this.
In his evidence Dr Murray described Donaldson as an accomplished liar and the sheriff agreed. His ruling said Donaldson obtained the funds through ‘ fraudulent misrepresentation’ and had shown ‘persistent brazen dishonesty’.
Sheriff O’Carroll said Miss Donaldson had ‘shown herself capable of acting utterly dishonestly in relation to cash withdrawals using the credit card.’ He said Miss Rowling’s evidence was given ‘ in a thoughtful, considered, measured, accurate, honest and reliable fashion’. He described the PA’s explanations as ‘incredible and highly implausible’.
the mother of two from Lanarkshire began working for Miss Rowling in Edinburgh in 2014 but was sacked last April. Miss Rowling – worth an estimated £650million – has never made a criminal complaint and pursued the matter in the civil court.
A spokesman for the author said she was ‘pleased’ with the ruling. He added: ‘ the money owed will be donated to JK Rowling’s charity Lumos.’
‘Paid £250 for a candle’