Bookkeeper mum stole £14,000 from web firm

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phooper@thekmgroup.co.uk A Canterbury businesswoman was ripped off by almost £14,000 by the bookkeeper paid to run the accounts for her online services.

Victim Dr Rachel Cornish, managing director of Cornish Webservices, could not understand why she had to keep the business going with her own cash.

It was in May last year, when bosses at accountancy firm Burgess Hodgson began an investigation, that Joanne Merrick’s thieving was discovered.

The 24-year-old mum-of-one had been cooking the books to cover up the fact she was pocketing thousands of pounds.

But despite admitting stealing £13,800 during a sevenmonth period in 2012/13, Merrick, of Whitfield Avenue, Broadstairs, escaped with an 18-month jail sentence which was suspended for two years.

Prosecutor Ian Foinette told Canterbury Crown Court she worked as an assistant bookkeeper with Canterbury accountancy business Burgess Hodgson.

“One of her jobs was to look after the affairs of Cornish Webservices.

“From July 2012 to February 2013, Merrick set up various transactions within the accounts which enabled her to take money which should have been due to the company.

“She paid money into accounts, some of which were in her own name.

“In May last year, one of the partners at the accountants was looking through the accounts and found transactions which didn’t add up and began looking further.”

The prosecutor said the effect of Merrick’s thieving meant Dr Cornish had to subsidise the firm with her own money.

Mr Foinette said: “That meant money she could have spent on other things, like treats for children, she wasn’t able to do.

“She was concerned because she couldn’t understand how the company did not have this extra money.”

In her police statement, Dr Cornish said the missing cash caused her “worry and stress, not knowing why the money was not there”.

Merrick had pocketed the money by transferring into her own accounts and then taking it out within days.

She covered her tracks by using details of genuine invoices to disguise the thefts.

Rent

Mr Foinette said: “She was arrested and interviewed by police but declined to answer their questions.”

Merrick, who admitted theft and false accounting, wept in the dock as her barrister, James Ross, told how the thieving started when she took out a two-year lease on a property.

He said that at the time she was planning to live with her boyfriend who, together with a lodger, would help pay the rent.

But after a miscarriage, her lover left when the relationship ended and the lodger moved out a short while later, leaving her to pay the rent by herself.

Mr Ross said: “At work she was able to put across a diligent and professional exterior but in fact she was a vulnerable young woman.”

He said that after studying accountancy part-time she got a job with Burgess Hodgson.

Mr Ross said: “Within six months, she assumed the position of accounts manager for Cornish Webservices.”

He added that Merrick and her lover rekindled their romance and she became pregnant again. But after her arrest he ended their relationship again.

Judge Nigel Van Der Bijl ordered Merrick to do 200 hours of unpaid work and remain at her home between 7pm and 7am for the next six months.

Cornish Webservices has been rebranded as Extradigital.