Producer faces jail for stealing from video company to fund holidays around world
A FILM producer who stole up to £70,000 from an award-winning video production company to splash out on holidays around the world could face jail.
Natalie Tither, 30, abused her company credit card to book a string of getaways while working for Canonbury-based Casual Films.
Blackfriars crown court heard that Tither is accused of spending £70,000 illegally, but she argues that some of the transactions could have been genuine work expenses.
Tither, of Brixton, appeared in the dock on Friday to plead guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position between January and November last year.
Judge David Richardson freed her on bail until sentencing on May 12, but warned her she faces “the prospect of a custodial sentence”.
Casual Films, which has won awards for its work for Friends of the Earth, for accountancy giant PwC and for Rolls-Royce, is based in Shepperton Road in Canonbury and also counts Nestlé, Ernst and Young, Barclays and Samsung among its past clients.
Tither had posted a string of holiday photos on Facebook but she appears to have deleted the page since news of the fraud charge came to light.
At a previous hearing, prosecutor Kirsten Marenah said: “The allegations relate to the defendant misusing a work credit card. The alleged total i s bet ween £60,000 and £70,000.”
However, Tither’s legal representatives believe the true value of the fraud may be around £50,000.
Paul Rattigan, prosecuting, told the court that a director and accountants from the company would “provide material relating to misuse in the region of £70,000” at Tither’s sentencing hearing.
“That may still be subject to negotiation between defence and the Crown,” he added.
Mr Rattigan accepted some of transactions that had gone through the company card were for a “legitimate use” and that more time was needed to determine the basis on which the defendant should be sentenced.
Ben Walker-Nolan, representing Tither, suggested the figure was nearer £50,000, but said it was expecting that “further discussions between the police, the company and CPS” will be needed.
He added: “The defence case, at the moment, is that some of the entries on this schedule [of transactions] relate to legitimate expenditure.”