Embezzler bride blew £200,000 of quango’s cash on luxury lifestyle
A WOMAN embezzled almost £200,000 from a publicly owned company and spent the cash on luxury holidays and her wedding reception, a court heard yesterday.
Maria Weir, 62, stole the money while she was operations manager at Scottish Intellectual Asset Management between 2005 and 2011.
Weir also bought bridal wear, concert tickets and groceries.
She was given unrestricted access to the company bank accounts and used her position to authorise bogus payments to her own bank account. Weir pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to embezzling £199,880.84 from the firm.
Owned by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, it was set up to help businesses protect their intellectual property such as patents and copyright.
The court heard Weir, from Baillieston, Glasgow, created an ‘intricate system of emails and invoices’ to cover her fraudulent money transfers. She used the cash for luxury expenditure, including flights to the United States.
Prosecutor Deborah Carroll said: ‘There was spending at the Metropolitan Bar in Glasgow for a wedding reception in the name of Weir.
‘Funds were also paid to Catherine’s of Partick, which is a store that specialises in bridal wear.’
The former boss also abused the company taxi account to the tune of £4,053 for non-work related travel.
Weir was only caught after she left the company in 2011.
Miss Carroll said: ‘Irregularities were identified after she left the company. The investigation showed she had purchased concert tickets, flights and hotel on a trip to Boston in America for herself, her children, her partner and his son.
‘There was purchase of household items for personal use and grocery shopping at Asda.
‘In March 2011, there were a number of transactions at well-known tourist attractions in Florida and the payment of internal US flights when the accused was on holiday in Orlando.’
An audit found that on one occasion Weir forged the signature of the company’s managing director in order to make a payment.
Weir, who later moved to Germany to work, was arrested on an international warrant in April this year. She appeared in the dock in a wheelchair. The court was told none of the stolen money has been recovered.
Defence lawyer Matthew Berlow said: ‘She has myriad difficulties. She has a possible brain tumour, which has affected her mobility, and there is an MRI scan planned.’
A confiscation hearing has been set for next month and Weir will be sentenced in September.
Bailing her, Sheriff Joanna Johnston said: ‘You have pleaded guilty to a long, complex fraud. I will consider all sentencing options.’