A woman has been jailed after stealing £50,000 from her employer – using it to buy holidays, clothes and takeaways.
Donna Pope, 47, used her company credit card to fund the lavish lifestyle, making personal purchases over several months including holidays to Amsterdam and Malaga, car insurance, phone bills, Amazon orders, and even her personal trainer.
She also used the Ormskirk company’s card for shopping at Zara, Shein, and to buy herself new radiators at B&Q on the same trip she was supposed to be buying work supplies.
Her spending only came to light when her boss noticed unusual transactions on the company’s bank statements and confronted her.
Donna Pope was jailed at Preston Crown Court for 38 months. Credit: PA Images
Pope, of Liverpool Road, Ormskirk, denied any wrongdoing, claiming she had mistakenly linked her personal PayPal account to the business and would “sort it out.”
But she went off sick before eventually leaving the company altogether.
Her boss reported her to police, and she was sentenced to 38 months in prison at Preston Crown Court after pleading guilty to fraud by abuse of position.
Donna Pope was jailed at Preston Crown Court for 38 months. Credit: PA Images
In a victim impact statement read to the court her employer said: “When I first began to suspect irregularities, Donna repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
“These explanations were lies. She continued to deny the fraud for many months and left the company, citing that she was offered another job that offered more flexibility.”
He continued: “Her actions have devastated my business, my finances, and my family’s sense of security. The emotional impact is ongoing.
“We are still dealing with the consequences every day, and the road to recovery, financially, physically, and emotionally, remains uncertain.”
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