Pharmacist stole test kits to sell on eBay site

A PHARMACIST who fleeced her boss out of £10,000 after selling diabetic test strips on her husband’s eBay account has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Rita Kauldhar was caught after secretly ordering extra products from the Black Country pharmacy where she worked and selling them online.

Kauldhar, 38, of Lindens Drive, Streetly, admitted theft by employee between August 1,

2019, and May 29, 2020 at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

She was given a two-year sentence, suspended for two years, along with a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 90 hours unpaid work.

Recorder Anthony Warner said the case had led to great distress for her boss and other staff at Swanpool Medical Centre, in Tipton, and added: “It has meant that he has had to take on a loan in order to put it right. I hope that you are thoroughly ashamed for this disgraceful, dishonest conduct.”

Thomas Griffiths, prosecuting, said Kauldhar’s scheme was only uncovered after her suspicious boss, Mr Ali, launched an investigation to uncover her nine-month crime spree.

He began noticing orders had been placed for diabetic test strips which he had not authorised around September 2019.

He decided to call the seller, who revealed orders had come direct from his pharmacy. Mr Ali soon realised Kauldhar was working ‘every time’ orders were placed and that some orders had been deleted from the internal system. He then decided to search on eBay for sellers of the strips and saw a link to her husband’s account. The pharmacy boss then got a family member to make a ‘test purchase.’

Mr Griffiths said: “The batch number of the box received from the seller matched the batch number on the pharmacy’s invoice.”

Mr Ali said: “My staff were devastated. Some were crying and felt betrayed. They felt they had been groomed. The emotional impact was far worse than the money one.”