Secretary stole £1.2m
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Discussion

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

78 months

Monday 17th February 2020
quotequote all
Spared jail.

Just wow.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/17/secret...

This has more information

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8013561/S...

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 17th February 22:44

Funk

27,393 posts

233 months

Monday 17th February 2020
quotequote all
Seems it does pay after all.

Pesty

42,655 posts

280 months

Monday 17th February 2020
quotequote all
White male privilege strikes again

Gameface

16,565 posts

101 months

Monday 17th February 2020
quotequote all
Seven figure theft and no jail time.

fking ludicrous.

Desiderata

2,738 posts

78 months

Monday 17th February 2020
quotequote all

Dog Star

17,379 posts

192 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
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Gameface said:
Seven figure theft and no jail time.

fking ludicrous.
Compare and contrast with (OK I know it's the US) Anna Sorokin - $275,000 and 4 to 12 years!
I know where I'd rather go on trial!

turbobloke

116,086 posts

284 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
La Liga said:
There are two aspects here:

The first is that she was given a custodial sentence of two years which means she was sentenced as a category one (the most serious type of theft) offender.

The second is that the sentence was then suspended.

Not sure the Telegraph article gives quite enough detail to conclude the sentencing and suspension were incorrect...
A conman member of a gang that defrauded the NHS to the tune of £1.2m was jailed for 4 yrs 6 months, not suspended.

An additional 10 years was then added when full repayment (as ordered) didn't occur.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

78 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
turbobloke said:
La Liga said:
There are two aspects here:

The first is that she was given a custodial sentence of two years which means she was sentenced as a category one (the most serious type of theft) offender.

The second is that the sentence was then suspended.

Not sure the Telegraph article gives quite enough detail to conclude the sentencing and suspension were incorrect...
A conman member of a gang that defrauded the NHS to the tune of £1.2m was jailed for 4 yrs 6 months, not suspended.

An additional 10 years was then added when full repayment (as ordered) didn't occur.
I deleted my reply as there are two topics running and put it in the older one, although this is probably a better place for it looking at where the other one is.

1) Circumstances are unique to each case.

2) Anything over two years can't be suspended.

3) That sounds like fraud which carries more serious sentencing.

poo at Paul's

14,558 posts

199 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
I never understand the "suspended" idea for cases like this, ie serious, long term theft.
It's like a "don't do it again" , but she was doing this for 13 years..... 13, and nicked £1.2Million!! She doesn't need to do it again!

It's just no deterrent if these people don't go to prison.

As for family, kids etc, I am sorry, but a woman who steals for 13 years from her employer is NO role model. The kid would be better off being brought up by someone with a little more integrity.

turbobloke

116,086 posts

284 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
La Liga said:
turbobloke said:
La Liga said:
There are two aspects here:

The first is that she was given a custodial sentence of two years which means she was sentenced as a category one (the most serious type of theft) offender.

The second is that the sentence was then suspended.

Not sure the Telegraph article gives quite enough detail to conclude the sentencing and suspension were incorrect...
A conman member of a gang that defrauded the NHS to the tune of £1.2m was jailed for 4 yrs 6 months, not suspended.

An additional 10 years was then added when full repayment (as ordered) didn't occur.
I deleted my reply as there are two topics running and put it in the older one, although this is probably a better place for it look at where the other one is.

1) Circumstances are unique to each case.

2) Anything over two years can't be suspended.

3) That sounds like fraud which carries more serious sentencing.
It sounds like the sentence handed down to the secretary was unduly lenient.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

78 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
turbobloke said:
La Liga said:
turbobloke said:
La Liga said:
There are two aspects here:

The first is that she was given a custodial sentence of two years which means she was sentenced as a category one (the most serious type of theft) offender.

The second is that the sentence was then suspended.

Not sure the Telegraph article gives quite enough detail to conclude the sentencing and suspension were incorrect...
A conman member of a gang that defrauded the NHS to the tune of £1.2m was jailed for 4 yrs 6 months, not suspended.

An additional 10 years was then added when full repayment (as ordered) didn't occur.
I deleted my reply as there are two topics running and put it in the older one, although this is probably a better place for it look at where the other one is.

1) Circumstances are unique to each case.

2) Anything over two years can't be suspended.

3) That sounds like fraud which carries more serious sentencing.
It sounds like the sentence handed down to the secretary was unduly lenient.
Judges tend to know how to apply the guidelines, but sometimes they are unduly lenient. Theft isn't a crime where anyone can ask the AG to have a sentence reviewed.

Five counts over £1 million with a suspension certainly sounds like it's pushing it. Although exceptional cases do appear and I don't think it'd be unreasonable to suggest the media like to run with atypical ones as opposed to hundreds of other sentences handed out each week.



turbobloke

116,086 posts

284 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
La Liga said:
turbobloke said:
La Liga said:
turbobloke said:
La Liga said:
There are two aspects here:

The first is that she was given a custodial sentence of two years which means she was sentenced as a category one (the most serious type of theft) offender.

The second is that the sentence was then suspended.

Not sure the Telegraph article gives quite enough detail to conclude the sentencing and suspension were incorrect...
A conman member of a gang that defrauded the NHS to the tune of £1.2m was jailed for 4 yrs 6 months, not suspended.

An additional 10 years was then added when full repayment (as ordered) didn't occur.
I deleted my reply as there are two topics running and put it in the older one, although this is probably a better place for it look at where the other one is.

1) Circumstances are unique to each case.

2) Anything over two years can't be suspended.

3) That sounds like fraud which carries more serious sentencing.
It sounds like the sentence handed down to the secretary was unduly lenient.
Judges tend to know how to apply the guidelines, but sometimes they are unduly lenient. Theft isn't a crime where anyone can ask the AG to have a sentence reviewed.
Judges are more out of touch than politicians, and that takes some effort. In the largest survey of such attitudes (public attitudes) ever published, two out of three respondents thought judges were out of touch with ordinary people's lives.

Public confidence in the justice system is needed but is eroded by lenient sentencing as above. Excuses from any source, particularly sources within the system, won't wash.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/nov/19/claredy...

No improvement as yet.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

78 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
turbobloke said:
Judges are more out of touch than politicians, and that takes some effort. In the largest survey of such attitudes (public attitudes) ever published, two out of three respondents thought judges were out of touch with ordinary people's lives.

Public confidence in the justice system is needed but is eroded by lenient sentencing as above. Excuses from any source, particularly sources within the system, won't wash.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/nov/19/claredy...

No improvement as yet.
I've no doubt most of the public, when asked whether 'judges are out of touch' would give that answer. That doesn't mean they have any idea what they are talking about.

Although hardly any had direct experience of judges, respondents expressed strong views about them.

Wow, that's me convinced. Sounds like Dunning-Kruger in action to me.

We imprison more people per head than most other countries in the world with more prisons than not classified as over-crowded.

I think we'd quickly run out of space if the general public got their way with what they would want to see as sentences for crimes.

With prison being so effective and all. Here's the population since that article you cited was written. Crime free aren't we?



Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 18th February 10:01

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

78 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
What puzzles me is she not jailed so to be able to look after her son and her husband who has mental health issues.

Yet she states the following

"The defendant claimed her plan had been to flee be country with her son without her husband's knowledge"

Gameface

16,565 posts

101 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
And if she's mother of the year, why didn't she spend the stolen money on her child rather than luxury cars and private numberplates?

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

78 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
Gameface said:
And if she's mother of the year, why didn't she spend the stolen money on her child rather than luxury cars and private numberplates?
I think this says it all about the women.

'She now said she had stolen in order for her child to have a privileged upbringing. The offending predates her child's birth.'

The only person she has thought about is herself. The husband might be better being away from someone that toxic.

Prizam

2,447 posts

165 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
Pesty said:
White male privilege strikes again
Yep, this. I know personaly a white, male bloke who did exactly the same. just over 1m. Got 5 years.

kev1974

4,030 posts

153 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
How come the various people she stole from, who all seem to be the same family or closely related, had quite so much cash sloshing around in their current accounts? I mean I can't imagine she didn't expect them to work out quite quickly who'd done them all over, so was she counting on them being let's say less than willing to go to the authorities about her thefts, or was she really just utterly stupid.

Gareth79

8,776 posts

270 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
I'm amazed at how these people get away with it for so long, the directors must have had very poor control of their company finances, it looks like she was the only person who looked at the bank accounts (other than the daughter, later!)

It reminds me of Amanda Cox, who stole £1.7m to fund a drag racing team:
https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/godal...

poo at Paul's

14,558 posts

199 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
Prizam said:
Pesty said:
White male privilege strikes again
Yep, this. I know personaly a white, male bloke who did exactly the same. just over 1m. Got 5 years.
I caught a payables fraud (stationery) in a big PLC back around 2008, and the perpetrator (female regional director) got 11 months, served 6, (she worked for us), however, her bloke apparently told her to do it and was involved on the other side of it, (ie "running" the supplier) and he got 2 years! LOL
This was a very basic fraud where the actual supplier was the same, but the rogue employee authorised a new one, and all invoices, with a dummy company run by her fella just adding 20% to the actual suppliers invoices and ending them on to our company Purchase Ledger dept, which the rogue the arranged to authorise and have paid.
Went on a while and was £400k.