Gran stole £11k from employers

A GRANDMOTHER stole more than £11,000 from her employers by falsifying refunds and used a colleague’s bank account to carry out the fraud, a court has heard.

She has appeared before the court for a similar offence in the past and received a suspended sentence.

Hellen Simmonds, 51, of Treharris, Merthyr Tydfil, was employed at Valley Vets when she carried out the fraud between June 2020 and May 2022.

The theft involved her falsifying refunds and payments on the company’s system, which enabled her to steal a total of £11,417.

A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on January 23 heard the defendant had used a colleague’s bank account to hide what she was doing.

The fraud was discovered when her employers found the fraudulent transactions and questioned her about them in July 2022.

She admitted responsibility and offered to pay the sum back but the police were called.

Simmonds, of Glan Yr Afon, later pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position.

The court heard she had a previous conviction for theft by an employee dating back to 2012, for which she received a four-month suspended sentence.

In mitigation, defence barrister Alice Sykes said her client found the Covid pandemic difficult due to her then husband’s alcoholism, which caused financial issues.

She said Simmonds had shown remorse, and provided support to her children and grandchildren.

At the time of the court hearing, it was said her daughter was in labour with the defendant’s grandchild and she was due to be her birthing partner.

Ms Sykes said Simmonds had since found new employment, which would still be available to her if she were not sent to prison.

The defendant was said to have stepped back from roles with financial responsibilities to remove the risk of temptation.

Sentencing, Recorder Sean Bradley said: “The offence was quite long and sophisticated, and was a significant breach of trust of your employer, and of your colleague whose account you used to process those transactions.”

He also referred to the defendant’s previous convictions, but the judge said there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in her case and strong personal mitigation.

Simmonds was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. She was also ordered to carry out a 12-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 150 hours of unpaid work, was made the subject of an eightmonth electronic curfew, and must pay compensation of £150 per month for t wo years.