A mother who stole £180,000 from her employer to live out her ‘fantasy life’ and lavish family members with gifts was uncovered when the boss raised alarm over a £37 shopping trip at B&Q.
Tracy Ellis, 52, funded her lifestyle by swindling her employer out of huge sums of money over a period of more than five years in what has been described as a ‘betrayal’ to the small firm for which she worked for nearly a decade.
Ellis – who is also known as Tracy Hatton – was tasked with paying invoices and looking after petty cash for the company as part of her bookkeeping role, Liverpool Crown Court heard this week.
She stole from the company over the course of 139 separate transactions dating as far back as January 2017, but wasn’t caught until May last year when the firm’s director noticed the business account was used to complete a purchase at B&Q.
Ellis admitted fraud by abuse of position and was jailed for two years and eight months. She is set to be hauled back before the same court later this year, when she could be ordered to repay her ill-gotten gains under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Tracy Ellis, 52, (pictured) stole a total of £181,958.95 from her employer over the course of 139 separate transactions dating as far back as January 2017, the court heard. These had been made into 12 separate accounts, including those of her family members
Ellis employed by Prescot-based building contractor Ingham and Garner Ltd in September 2013, and became ‘solely responsible’ for its accounts, Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon.
Christopher Hopkins, prosecuting, described how Ellis, of Hall Street in St Helens, was tasked with paying invoices and looking after petty cash as part of her role with the company, which is in refurbishments, extensions and fit outs for public sector clients such as the NHS and local authorities.
Ingham and Garner Ltd was made privy to her thefts on May 9 last year when company director Jennifer Burrows noticed that the business account had been used to complete a £37.80 transaction at B&Q in St Helens the previous day.
She then confronted the defendant, as they were the only members of staff who had been entrusted with the pin number for this card.
Ellis initially ‘suggested it might have been another employee’, but then admitted that she had made the purchase but claimed ‘it had been an accident and she had mistaken the company card for her own’, the court heard.
This caused Ms Burrows to carry out further checks on the account, at which point she saw that the mother-of-three had repaid the sum ‘along with a further payment’.
She also spotted that the card had previously been used to carry out another suspicious transaction on May 5, while a £300 withdrawal had been made from a cash machine on April 22.
The boss then found a record of payment to a Preston-based skip company on Ellis’ desk, a document which stated that the funds had actually been transferred to her personal bank account.
This prompted a full internal investigation, which found that the fraudster had stolen a total of £181,958.95 from the company in 139 separate transactions. These had been made into 12 separate accounts, including those of her family members.
Ellis ‘phoned in sick’ after the theft was first discovered, and she was later dismissed. Mr Hopkins added: ‘The defendant was plainly well thought of by the company.
‘She was highly trusted. This is a gross breach of that trust.’
In a statement read out to the court on her behalf, Ms Burrow said: ‘It has been a really stressful experience to go through. All of us in the office were friends to Tracy.
‘I feel quite hurt and upset. It has been a difficult process – there have been many sleepless nights.’
Ellis, who has no previous convictions, has since ‘found employment at a much lower level’. Andrew McInnes, defending, told the court: ‘References suggest a positive good character.
‘She has clearly been a good and supportive friend but for some reason it seems she has taken a destructive path, leading to the defendant’s shame before the court. She is terrified at the prospect of what might follow.
Ellis was caught on May 9 last year when company director Jennifer Burrows noticed that the business account had been used to complete a £37.80 transaction at B&Q in St Helens the previous day
‘There is a history of anxiety and depression following the birth of her first son. There is a suggestion of low mood.
‘That depression was exacerbated by the deaths of her mother and sister within weeks in 2014. She assumed responsibility for her niece.
‘She was almost living some sort of fantasy, that she had an income beyond the income she received. Her low self-esteem led to a desire to please people.
‘There are clearly elements of escapism by buying things and giving family members money. She was drinking to excess, which clouded her judgement.
‘She tells me she knew that at some point she would be caught. She has precious little left to show for it.
‘She is extremely remorseful. She is genuinely devastated by her behaviour.
‘It is hard to envisage a woman like Tracy Ellis before this court at all, let alone in these circumstances for such a significant amount of money. She has clearly taken a foolish and criminal decision at a low point in her life, which has snowballed out of control – she buried her head in the sand for many years.’
‘You abused that trust which had been placed in you,’ sentencing, Recorder Eric Lamb told Ellis – who was wearing a pink and black checked coat and glasses in the dock.
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‘You abused that position in order to enrich yourself and others. Although your actions were directed against the company, you knew all too well and all too personally the people involved – just as they knew you.
‘There is, of course, a different side to your character. You are of positive good character, and there is genuine remorse.
‘You resorted to a fantasy life at a time of low self-esteem, seeking escapism in giving gifts and drinking heavily. The impact on the company has been substantial.
‘It has understandably been stressful for those remaining at the company. They are left to feel hurt and upset by what they would sense was a betrayal that had taken place.’
DailyMail
