Stephanie Long has been jailed for three years and four months after stealing more than £214,000 from B&M Waste Services
In a scheme to impress her boyfriend, a woman stole thousands from her employer.
Stephanie Long was jailed today after stealing just over £214,000 from B&M Waste Services over a four year period.
As a purchasing and ledger supervisor, she was trusted with the payment of contractors for the company and handling accounts. However she misused that role and used the stolen money to buy holidays and other things.
Liverpool Crown Court heard her start the theft campaign back in April 2016, and she spent it to convince her new partner that she has more money.
She began to steal from B&M shortly after being hired and the payments went unnoticed until February last year.
After company leaders announced their plans to change the management of accounts at the company, Long’s lies were exposed.
Long was aggressive and belligerent to the point that the court threatened to take disciplinary action when Long was asked for assistance.
She was offered a severance package of just under £9,000 soon after but just a week after leaving the company, other workers started to spot fraudulent payments to a bank account.
Although she tried to erase evidence of her theft, the 47-year old attempted to do so by shredding invoices. However, forensic accountants quickly discovered payments that were later connected to her account.
Ember-Jade Wong, prosecuting, said the fraud had a devastating impact on B&M and its employees.
She said it was expected to incur a further £120,000 in losses in addition to the money stolen by Long and the money it had to spend to investigate and remedy the problem.
In court, Ms Wong read out a business impact statement that stated many employees had experienced stress following the incident and warned of potential damage to its reputation with suppliers.
Liverpool Crown Court (pictured). Long said that she is deeply sorry for stealing the money to portray a luxurious lifestyle to purchase the love of her partner.
Natalia Cornwall, who was defending Long’s actions, said that Long had deeply regretted her behavior and felt driven to please a new partner.
Ms Cornwall stated that her relationship was toxic and she felt demeaning, humiliated and emotionally abused.
“Her method of dealing with this was to effectively portray a life that included a job well done and significant money to purchase his love.
“She admits that she thought that this was a deluded act, but it started out small, before fraud spiralled into a large scale and began to get out of control.
The woman added that Long was aware she was headed to prison. She wanted the chance to work on a few of her problems, such as her alcoholism.
Although the exact amount of the money Long stole was not disclosed to the court, Ms Wong stated that it covered family vacations, shopping and repayments.
Long was jailed. Recorder Ian Harris said Long that the “scale and ambition” of her greed outweighed any other factors that could have decreased her sentence significantly.
He stated that there was no other alternative than the sentence I gave you as a custodial sentence.
“I believe, but don’t know, if you’re able to help the company in its future.”
Long of Dingle will be subject to confiscation orders. Long may also have to make financial contributions.
Long was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after being convicted of fraud by abuse.