A part-time dental worker has been jailed for embarking on lavish spending sprees after plundering nearly £300,000 from her company’s accounts.
Lisa Marie Jones, 55, worked just 16-hours-a-week as a dental practise manager but splashed out on luxury handbags and shoes. And when she was finally caught, Jones “showed no remorse” and tried to blame her colleagues.
She then falsely claimed the owner of the dental practise had given her the money as they were having a secret love affair. Jones, of Scarisbrick in Lancashire, paid herself up to six-times her monthly salary of £1,200 pocketing highs of £8,000 a month.
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But in 2018, her lies caught up with her and she was charged with fraud and false accounting. And on Friday, December 8, she was jailed for six years and nine months at Preston Crown Court, LancashireLive reports.
Cecilia Pritchard, prosecuting, told the court Jones was employed as a practice manager at Mansion House Dental Practice in Ormskirk from the 1980s to 2016. She had full responsibility for the payroll and finances of the business, in addition to admin and reception duties.
In 2000, dentist John Howarth took over the business after working at the practice for two years. Jones continued her role as practice manager with an agreement any overtime would be paid by time off in lieu.
Mr Howarth said he trusted Jones implicitly. But unbeknown to him, she doctored cheques to add additional numbers after they had been signed, and made out cheques to her own account or for cash.
Mr Howarth took on extra work to try to keep the business afloat, working up to 52 extra hours a month. In 2014 he had a breakdown at home and told his wife “enough was enough”.
He sold the business to Chris Fair, another dentist who worked at the practice. Mr Fair said he wanted to phase out cheques and move to digital banking, however Jones began altering payroll records, increasing her hourly rate of pay and the number of hours she worked, so continued to defraud the practice.
Ms Pritchard said: “Over a long period of years the defendant defrauded the practice, covering the time when it was owned by both Mr Howarth and Mr Fair.”
In 2016, Mr Fair noticed money was missing from the company accounts and called in the help of a financial investigator. A forensic accountant concluded she had taken £282,958 she was not entitled to.
They concluded the shortfall was down to Jones, and she was dismissed for gross misconduct. Jones appealed against her dismissal and pointed the finger at her colleagues.
She also made false claims about Mr Howarth saying he did not want to confess to an affair because he had chosen his wife over her. Mr Howarth said: “Lisa robbed me and her colleagues of pay rises on many occasions.
“She robbed me of a large part of my pension when I sold the practice. Her actions have inevitably affected my stability and trust in people, and I have lost opportunities I could have had with my children and family.”
He said he was traumatised by Jones’ lies about him, which he had to discuss with his wife. Mr Howarth added: “I was heartbroken. I felt I didn’t know Lisa at all. Not only had she stolen from me, she told lies that affected my family. She has no remorse and I could not believe she would stoop so low.”
Mr Fair said: “Realising there had been a theft from the practice was a huge shock to me. Our staff were all long standing and I developed friendships with them. I thought I knew them all and could trust them all. Realising who was responsible highlighted the breach of trust and the charade of professionalism and friendship.
“I realised I had been underpaying John (Howarth) for two years. This resulted in me owing John £40,000 which I had to take out a loan to pay.”
He said his mental health suffered and he resorted to using sleeping pills. Defending, Peter Gimour said Jones had continued to work for another business following her dismissal and was well thought of and trusted.
Judge Graham KNowles KC, sentencing, told her: “For seven years you defrauded two dentists who employed and trusted you. You defrauded them of more than a quarter of a million pounds. For seven more years you denied what you had done and blamed others for what you had done until eventually you changed your plea to guilty. You abused your role and abused their trust.
“That continued until Mr Fair smelled a rat and called in investigators at a cost. You falsely blamed colleagues, citing what you said about drug habits or debts or family issues. That led to unpleasant protracted investigations against wholly innocent people.
“When police found the true depth of your criminality and plundering of the business, you kept up your denials.”
The judge said Jones, of Heatons Bridge Road, Scarisbrick, showed no remorse and aggravated the offences through her lies about others. He jailed her for six years and nine months for fraud with 32 months to run concurrently for false accounting.
