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A 59-year-old woman has been sentenced to community service and a two-year suspended sentence for fraud and false accounting, including the unauthorised transfer of £70,000 for personal use.
Caroline Malloy was a PA and Officer Manager for an International Asset Recovery Firm and undertook admin work for a non-profit organisation.
Part of her role included setting up PayPal accounts to facilitate the transfer of online payments to the relevant bank account of the non-profit.
Judge Russel Finch explained during sentencing: “From 2016 to 2021 you transferred money from the accounts via PayPal for your own use, total £70,075.63. You did, we are told, intend to pay back the amounts you fraudulently used, making repayments from 2 August, 2018 and you have paid back £23,824.72, leaving a total loss of £46,250.91.”
Malloy also prepared falsified documents to deceive the Directors of the company and prepared false accounting.
“In our view, in this case, you would have little to complain about for example, if you went down those stairs behind that door for two years,” said Judge Finch.
“Here we are, exceptionally, proposing to suspend the sentences.
“This is based on the mitigating factors we have gone over. It was not an easy decision and it has to be noted in such cases the main concern is the punishment and deterrence of offenders. Here, your lack of previous convictions and personal circumstances just about allow us to take this course.
“It is not a precedent, it is on the particular facts of this case. You have thrown away your good character and this is, we emphasise, still technically a sentence of imprisonment. You should be very ashamed of yourself.”
Malloy was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years. A compensation order of £46,250.91 was also made and the Judge stressed that he was not proposing an order of instalment payments.
“This case is not about paying off a HP debt over many years: and one of His Majesty’s Deputy Sheriffs is in Court and will carry out the Order of the Court and enforce that amount.”
She was also given a community service order of 180 hours.
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