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Bride jailed for stealing £200,000 towards wedding | Bride jailed for stealing £200,000 towards wedding |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A bride who stole £200,000 from her employers to pay for a lavish wedding has been jailed. | A bride who stole £200,000 from her employers to pay for a lavish wedding has been jailed. |
Part-time accounts assistant Kirsty Lane, 30, transferred the funds from Pure AV's bank account into that of her and her future husband, Graham. | Part-time accounts assistant Kirsty Lane, 30, transferred the funds from Pure AV's bank account into that of her and her future husband, Graham. |
The fraud was discovered shortly after the pair's wedding at the Great Hall at Mains, near Blackpool in January 2011. | The fraud was discovered shortly after the pair's wedding at the Great Hall at Mains, near Blackpool in January 2011. |
Lane, of Lewis Close, Adlington, Lancashire was sentenced to 20 months in prison at Preston Crown Court. | Lane, of Lewis Close, Adlington, Lancashire was sentenced to 20 months in prison at Preston Crown Court. |
She stole about £122,000 from the Leyland company, which installs audio-visual equipment, by putting in fake invoices, marking them as paid and then depositing the money into her own account. | |
She also diverted about £70,000 through her husband's account, which she told him were savings, salary and bonuses. About £6,000 was transferred into a third account. | |
Company director Peter Sutton said Lane had cost the firm about £300,000, due to tax and VAT payments, and put the "livelihoods of 20-plus people" in jeopardy. | |
'Lavish wedding' | |
Police said Lane began working for Pure AV in May 2007 and started siphoning money into her account in December 2008. | Police said Lane began working for Pure AV in May 2007 and started siphoning money into her account in December 2008. |
A spokesman said the offences had continued until she left the company for her wedding on 23 January 2011 by which time she had made a total of 122 fraudulent transactions. | |
He said a large proportion of the money had been used to fund her "lavish wedding" which included a free bar, musicians, fireworks, a magician and face-painting. | |
He added that Lane had also used the cash to pay for home improvements and items such as a large television, a Tag Heuer watch, an iPod, compact mirrors and car keys covered in Swarovski crystals and personalised car registration plates. | |
He said she had "abused her position of trust to steal from her employer and fund a lavish lifestyle". | |
Speaking in Lane's defence, Amanda Johnson said she was a woman of good character who suffered from low self-esteem and the offending coincided with the time she met her husband. | |
"She felt that money and the trappings that money could buy would make her a more attractive proposition," she said. | |
She said Lane thought she could "make herself more attractive to him by having money and being able to spend it on gifts and holidays". | |
'Cynical exploitation' | |
Passing sentence, Judge Pamela Badley said the "modest" first amounts of cash Lane stole from the company had escalated and gone on to fund a luxury lifestyle. | Passing sentence, Judge Pamela Badley said the "modest" first amounts of cash Lane stole from the company had escalated and gone on to fund a luxury lifestyle. |
Judge Badley said her behaviour had been "fraudulent from the outset" and told her she had taken part in a "cynical exploitation of the small company for which you worked". | Judge Badley said her behaviour had been "fraudulent from the outset" and told her she had taken part in a "cynical exploitation of the small company for which you worked". |
Speaking after sentencing, Mr Sutton said Lane had been "a trusted member of the team and she had been in that position for a number of years". | |
He said she defrauded the company in a complex way and there had been no obvious "digital trail". | |
"We just wanted it over. It's the end of a traumatic time in our existence and the legal system has prevailed," he said. | |
Graham Lane was found not guilty to one count of money laundering at Preston Crown Court on an earlier date. | Graham Lane was found not guilty to one count of money laundering at Preston Crown Court on an earlier date. |