A woman from Leeds stole thousands of pounds of animal medication from the vets she was working at and sold it on eBay.
Abbi Mae Jowers, 25, deliberately over-ordered medication and other supplies from a wholesaler over a four-month period, while working as a receptionist at Vets4Pets in Harrogate, and took some of it home to sell online.
But when Ms Jowers took a day off and a large delivery containing items the veterinary practice did not usually order arrived, her boss became suspicious.
Her boss then figured out that she had made many unauthorised orders over the phone and items, which had been ordered as stock, had been delivered but could not be found anywhere at the veterinary practice.
North Yorkshire Police were called and the force's investigation found that Ms Jowers had ordered and stolen stock worth a total of £17,601.98, between January and April in 2018.
Ms Jowers, of Cliffe Park Crescent in Leeds, pleaded guilty to one count of theft by employee and one count of concealing, disguising, converting, transferring or removing criminal property.
She was given a two-year suspended prison sentence and ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work at York Crown Court on Friday, September 13.
Police say a Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation proceeding will now get underway, so they can recover the money Jowers stole from her employer.
Detective constable Abigail Garford, said: “Jowers’ crimes not only caused significant economic damage but also stress and strain on the owner of this small business.
"She abused the trust of her employer and stole a large amount of products over a period of several months before she was discovered.
“She has shown little remorse and continued to deny her offences throughout the case so I am pleased the case has now been concluded.
"The Proceeds of Crime Act ensures that not only will criminals face conviction in the courts but that the money they have stolen can also be recovered.”
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