A CROOKED office manager who paid for Celtic tickets and lavish holidays on the company credit card has vowed to sell her home to repay her former bosses.
Karen Fitzpatrick, 53, admitted taking £55,000 from PBR Building Services in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, where she had worked for 17 years.
She was only caught after bosses learned £1000 had been spent on a private number plate for one of her sons.
Fitzpatrick was due to be sentenced at Airdrie Sheriff Court on Tuesday but Sheriff Siobhan Connelly continued the case for more information after hearing about her repayment plan.
Defence lawyer Ross McGowan told the court: “Her only asset is the family home. It’s her intention to settle the repayment matter by selling the house.”
The mum of two had been accused of embezzling £197,597.85 but her guilty plea to a reduced charge was accepted before she was to stand trial. The court heard Fitzpatrick took the cash between January 2016 and November 2020.
Flora McCamley, prosecuting, said the crime came to light when the Clydesdale Bank had suspicions about a £1000 credit card purchase with Fitzpatrick’s home given as the delivery address.
The fiscal said: “Investigations revealed numerous transactions involving sums of money being paid from the company to the accused’s bank account. Her account was examined and transactions involving Amazon, Paypal, B&Q and Celtic Football Club aligned with the transfers from the company’s accounts.”
Aside from the repayment issue, Fitzpatrick, of Coatbridge, is being pursued by the Crown under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Sentence was deferred until later this year.
A PBR spokesman said: “Fitzpatrick was trusted implicitly and everyone thought she was doing a great job. She had access to the company credit card and abused her power.”
PBR is taking civil action against Fitzpatrick in relation to the total sum she was initially accused of embezzling.
The company spokesman added: “She should be accountable for the exact sum taken.”
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