A TRUSTED lettings manager let down her boss and helped herself to £30,000 of the company’s funds emptying the bank account.

Jenna Jones took the money in hundreds of secret transactions over a 12 month period and they only came to light when she started taking time off sick.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that she would make excuses not to come in and when asked for the ‘dongle’ to access the company’s bank accounts she claimed not to have it.

Eventually her boss, Kevin Curtis, contacted his bank directly and found she had been transferring money to her personal account “on an almost daily basis,” said Stuart Mills, prosecuting.

Mr Curtis, who ran a construction company for ten years before expanding into a lettings business in the last three years and employing Jones, painstakingly went through the bank statements and found the pattern of theft began around July 2022.

“Jones withdrew her wages, as normal, but then took a further amount marked as an “advance” on the next month’s wages. That continued for several months, before individual additional payments would be made to the accused’s personal account marked as being for “fuel” or other expenses. 

“This was not permitted as any expenses would have to be notified to the company accountant, supported by receipts. This pattern continued but the amounts seemed to increase. The total sum taken by the accused has been calculated to amount to £30,112,” said Mr Mills.

“She had effectively emptied the company account. It was necessary for him to have the company bank account stopped and re-set, which created considerable inconvenience taking a week to resolve.”

The police were notified and when interviewed on September 28 last year she said she had been working for Mr Curtis for three years

“She said that over that time her duties had become more onerous, and she was forced to work late at home and on holidays. As a result, she started paying herself ‘overtime’ but had not discussed this with the aggrieved.

“She also claimed that she would occasionally have to pay for cleaning items or fuel for company vehicles from her own personal account and would thereafter ‘reimburse’ herself these monies.”

In an impact statement Mr Curtis said, “She had worked for me for about two and a half years. She became a trusted member of staff, almost to the point of being my personal assistant and I trusted her to receive and pay out money.”

He said he had not felt it necessary to check because of his trust in her and he was shocked when he discovered her dishonesty. He was afraid of losing his good reputation and customers and paid out £3,000 of his own money to landlords.

“I spent about two days reviewing all the transactions and discovered she had completed hundreds of transactions moving money from my account to hers. I was shocked and upset at what I discovered. In one month she took £7,500.”

Mr Curtis said that mandatory payments had not been paid into a rent deposit scheme and he was left fearing a huge fine.

“She has been calculating and deceiving myself and the company for some time.”

He added that he had been caused a £48,000 loss and after 18 years in the building and property industry he has now lost trust in staff.

Jones, 31, of Upper Rice Lane, Wallasey, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position. She trembled in the dock during the hearing and kept taking her spectacles off to wipe her eyes.

Robert Wyn Jones, defending, said, “She clearly has some difficulty in facing up the totality of what she did. She has displayed victim empathy and disgusted at what she has done.”

He said she has mental health problems following historical trauma in the past and has epilepsy seizures which would make a prison sentence difficult. “She has lost her reputation and is deeply ashamed.”

The judge, Recorder Andrew Vinson told her, “You have to wrestle with why you did what you did, as do I.”

He said she had shown some insight and there is "the prospect of rehabilitation.”

The judge sentenced her to 22 months and 15 days imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered her to carry out 20 days rehabilitation activities. He also imposed a three month curfew between 7 - 7 pm.