A woman stole £200,000 from Homefair Blinds to fund a gambling addiction - using tippex.
Deborah Perry, 51, had been working for the company for 15 years until she was appointed North West Area Manager in 2012.
However, in January 2020, the company director became suspicious that money was being taken, Manchester Crown Court heard.
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“An audit was undertaken and revealed that , between December 2013 and January 2020 , in excess of £200,000 had been taken from the company unlawfully,” prosecutor Duncan Wilcock said.
“The company specifies some £393,000, the defendant accepts approximately £200,000.”
The court heard that when a customer would place an order, they would either leave a deposit or pay in full, using either cash or debit card.
Cash was kept in the store till, and at the end of each working day the shop manager would complete a ‘Zlist’ which would show the amount received and that document would be sent to Head Office for reconciliation with the bank account.
Over the period of six years, it was Perry’s role to visit the seven shops under her care two or three times a week to collect the cash, check against the Zlist and bank it.
“The Prosecution say that, on occasions the defendant would either conceal or dispose of some of the Zlists or would amend the figures upon it,” Mr Wilcock said.
“The company has also confirmed that, when the defendant was on annual leave, there were no issues with Zlists being returned to Head Office intact.
“The director initially considered the staff members at the Harpurhey branch to be responsible and spoke to those members of staff, in the presence of this defendant.
“When he made further detailed enquiries, he realised the losses spanned all 7 shops.”
Two staff members were suspended as a result, Judge Hilary Manley said, but only briefly and have since got their jobs back.
Perry, of Hyde, was initially spoken to and denied any knowledge, but following a disciplinary hearing she again denied any knowledge but resigned from her role.
After the matter was reported to the police she was interviewed and gave a prepared statement in which she stated she ran into ‘financial difficulty’.
In a basis of plea document she said that following a life-changing motorbike accident, her husband could no longer work and she was the sole provider for her family.
It read: “The defendant from 2015 to January 2019 took sums of money in the form of cash and just simply altered documentation by tippexing out the amount of money taken in an attempt to disguise the theft.”
In a victim personal statement, the director said it has been an ‘extremely stressful’ time and had undermined staff's trust in the company.
“It became apparent that she had neglected her duties she had been employed to carry out,” they said.
“Seven stores were left in a state of disrepair and needed an overhaul.
“We also had to declare the stolen cash to HMRC and pay the VAT.”
Perry was said to have no previous convictions.
Mitigating, Rachel White said her client has experienced embarrassment and shame as a result of her actions.
“Her father, who has since died of cancer, was a bookmaker and gambler, and would ask her to place bets for him,” she said.
“To recuperate the losses or to gain money, she began to spend the money she had earned with the gambling - it was a fool’s errand.
“There is only one winner in gambling.
“Matters escalated once the fraud started and it was very difficult to own up to it.”
Sentencing, Judge Hilary Manley said Perry was in a high degree of trust.
“As for what you did, you stole the money and you gambled it away,” she said.
Perry, of Peak Forest Close, was jailed for 28 months.
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An earlier version of this story said some staff members had been temporarily sacked, and that the company's trust in staff had been undermined. We are happy to clarify the judge said two members had been suspended briefly, and that staff's trust in the company had been undermined.
