A 'compulsive liar' who faked a pregnancy and stole £125,000 from her bosses while splurging on hotel stays and clubbing nights in Amsterdam will only have to repay £2,000.
asserted
who → fake → 2,000
Megan Reynolds, 29, was spared prison last year after being found to have totted up large expenses on company cards before attempting to hide her theft by creating fake invoices.
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Reynolds → spar → invoices
Maidstone Crown Court heard how the mother of two, of Rainham, Essex, defrauded at least two employers and also took out a £1,000 loan in her boyfriend's name.
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mother → hear → name
After her bosses discovered the financial irregularities, she remotely deleted emails to try and cover her tracks.
asserted
she → discover → tracks
It was heard Reynolds has a history of 'telling mistruths', including pretending a relative had cancer to secure time off work and lying to her boyfriend about being pregnant with a fake scan photo.
Yet she has now been ordered to repay just £2,017 – the value of her 'realisable' assets – despite taking a total of £126,984.
asserted
she → hear → 126,984
Reynolds previously admitted three offences of fraud and was handed a two-year jail term suspended for two years.
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Reynolds → admit → years
The court was previously told how she took £78,000 from Farningham-based electrical machinery firm CSL Power Systems between November 2019 and March 2021 while employed as a bookkeeper.
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she → tell → bookkeeper
Megan Reynolds, 29, was spared prison last year after being found to have totted up large expenses on company cards before attempting to hide her theft by creating fake invoices
The mother-of-two, from Rainham, Essex, stole more than £126,000 but has been ordered to repay just £2,017
She had access to the company's credit cards and would assist colleagues by making online purchases on their behalf.
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She → spar → behalf
Reynolds began using them to make fraudulent transactions, including car insurance for her vehicle, bookings on Hotels.com, a five-course dinner, and to fund a nightclub trip in Amsterdam.
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Reynolds → begin → Amsterdam
The court heard how an invoice for a spill kit, valued at £75.96, was used to cover up a purchase of dog chews Reynolds had made.
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Reynolds → hear → chews
Meanwhile, an invoice for black frames actually matched the purchase of a five-piece set of Tefal pans.
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invoice → match → pans
The firm last year described their former employee as a 'compulsive liar'.
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firm → describe → liar
After she was dismissed, an undeterred Reynolds secured a new job at ATL Retail Limited in Sevenoaks, where she spent £18,500 of company money between April 2021 and January 2022.
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she → dismiss → April
It was also discovered that she took out a loan for more than £1,000 using her then boyfriend's name and details without his knowledge.
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she → discover → knowledge
She reappeared at the same court on Monday to learn how much she would have to repay under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
But although the actual benefit figure was given as £126,984, Judge Julian Smith could only make a confiscation order in the sum of her realisable assets – just £2,017.
uncertain
Smith → reappear → assets
He ordered the money to be redirected as compensation, with CSL Power Systems receiving the largest amount of £1,229.
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Systems → order → 1,229
Other payments of £381, £376 and £30 are to be made to Barclays Bank, Axa Travel Insurance and Lantern Debt Recovery respectively.
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payments → make → Bank
Reynolds was told that if she did not repay within three months, she would serve three months in prison in default.
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she → tell → default
Judge Smith also warned that she faced the possibility of further confiscation proceedings if she were 'to win the lottery or come into substantial money'.
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she → warn → money
At Reynolds' sentencing hearing last year, the same judge remarked that she had repeatedly 'sought to enrich herself at others' expense'.
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she → remark → expense
But her lawyer, Lucy Kennedy, described the defendant as being 'devastated' by the impact her actions had on her victims and said she had herself stated: 'None of it was worth it.
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None → describe → it
As part of her suspended sentence, Reynolds was ordered to complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirements and 200 hours of unpaid work.
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Reynolds → suspend → work
Last year, a spokesperson for CSL Power Systems expressed their disappointment at the punishment dished out, saying it sent 'the wrong message' to society.
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it → express → society
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