GRAND Granny of THEFT -Who Swiped £163,000 From Boss of 25 YEARS

[Ladybbird]

Gran Who Worked Same Job For 25 Years Unmasked as THIEF Who Swiped £163,000 From Boss

Patricia Bennett was found to have swindled the company she worked at for 25 years of £163,000

BBC 8 OCT 2023






Bennett has been jailed for 18 months



A grandmother who worked the same job for nearly 25 years has been unmasked as the long-term thief who swiped £163,000 from her boss.



Patricia Bennett had used the money she nabbed from her boss to fund holidays to Spain, a refurbished garden and a DIY pop-up pub she bragged about on social media. Bolton Crown Court has since heard the 69-year-old from Hindley Green, near Wigan, admit to fraud totalling £163,111.35.


She was jailed for 18 months over the long-running scam, which was uncovered following her retirement. Her role as an accounts manager meant she could shuffle off cash here or there, pocketing it over the course of two and a half decades.




Patricia eventually confessed her crimes to husband Lawrence




Ms Bennett's theft was uncovered by her successor, who began investigating suspicious transactions from 13 years ago, MEN reported.

Bennett, whose son-in-law is a police officer and son works in a prison, posted a series of photos on social media of their UK staycations, holidays in Costa Blanca in Spain and Skiathos in Greece.


She also boasted of her back garden pub, where she and unsuspecting husband Lawrence built up a bar of their own and named it "Lorenzos".

The court has since heard Bennett would siphon off company cash into three bank accounts, two in her name and one in the name of Lawrence Bennett, the man she had married more than 50 years ago.

Bennett's final day at the firm back in July 2021 saw employees leave her a variety of cards and gifts, with a buffet spread out for her and her colleagues. Facebook messages from the swindler were revealed, with the 69-year-old boasting of "wine o'clock" get togethers with her husband and friends.


Another post from their caravan in the Lake District read: "On the road to our happy place. It's been a long time coming but we're off - and the sun is shining.''

Managing director David Whitehead, who runs J Shaw Electricals, feels he has been betrayed by his "friend" of 23 years. He said: "Had we known she had financial difficulties we would have helped her.

The major thing we feel is the betrayal she perpetrated on us over a long period of time. Our business has peaks and troughs and my colleagues and I have had to put money in to ensure it remained fluid when times were hard.

"But all the time she was taken these monies from us in full knowledge of the state of the business - the accounts of which she had total control. Patricia also dealt with the accounts of my brother, father, and his father too and they also feel betrayed.

I still wake up at night now as I just cannot believe this has happened.'' The court heard Bennett had been taken on by Mr Whitehead in 1998 as an accounts manager, raking in £16,000 a year.




Bennett had splashed out on a caravan home as well as lavish holidays in Europe


Her work saw her entrusted with balancing ledgers, invoices, paying wages and suppliers, as well as looking after the staff pension. Brian Berlyne, prosecuting, said: "Some suppliers appeared to have been paid twice but upon further investigations the companies concerned said they had only been paid once.

It was found she had created payment references in the name of companies her employer did business with - but inserted her own account number and sort code when making payment. Each payment was relatively modest but that made it more difficult to detect and the transactions were made between July 2008 and April 2021."

Following her arrest, the 69-year-old confessed to her husband.

Miss Niamh McGinty, defending, said: "She wants to express an unreserved apology to Mr Whitehead and the other members of the company for what she did. She is deeply ashamed of her actions, carries the guilt with her and she recognises she has brought shame on her family.

She hasn't lived a particularly lavish lifestyle. The initial motivation for the fraud was her strained financial circumstances due to her husbands' ill health." Bennet now faces a Proceeds of Crime hearing.

Sentencing Judge Martin Walsh said: "''This case is a tragedy not only for you and your family but also for the victims of your sustained dishonesty. You were entrusted to deal with the financial affairs of this small family business yet you were responsible for the fraudulent diversion of funds into your own bank account on a regular basis.


''The fact the transactions were relatively modest in size would have gone some way towards ensuring you were not detected at an earlier date.

I recognise the deep sense of hardship prison will cause to you and your family - but this was deliberate dishonesty over a protracted period of time. And there was a deep sense of betrayal inflicted upon your former employer.''