An East Kilbride tax worker could be jailed after stealing nearly £200,000 to pay off her mortgage and other debts.
Joanne Connell used taxpayers’ details to create fake credits and then transferred the money to her personal bank account.
She later told investigators the scam had enabled her to clear “pretty much all” of her mortgage.
Connell, 37, of Kincardine Place, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Friday.
She admitted embezzling £193,00 between April 22, 2022, and April 1 the following year.
Connell had been accused of taking £291,499 but her guilty plea was accepted to the lower amount.
Neil Thomson, prosecuting, said she worked for HMRC for around 15 years and held various roles during that time, including in the bankruptcy team and in self-assessment returns.
It appeared she committed the crime on an HMRC laptop while working from home and recovering from meningitis.
Records showed she first transferred £500 to her account but Mr Thomson told the court: “The sums then increased and she transferred £35,000 on four occasions.
“Connell was off work from June 6, 2022, to April 1, 2023. She is believed to have contracted meningitis and was admitted to hospital with a bleed to the brain that developed into an abscess.
“At that time she told her managers she had difficulty understanding and following instructions, but it seems she continued to perpetrate this crime during her sick leave.
“When arrested she admitted the fraudulent activity and said she had around £100,000 of debts to pay off.
“Asked how much of her mortgage she had managed to pay off, she replied ‘Pretty much all of it’.”
Investigators found she’d cleared £80,000 of the mortgage and £10,000 of other debts. She had also given money to her aunt and £14,000 to her next door neighbour’s partner.
Sheriff John Hamilton KC deferred sentence until January for background reports and an electronic tagging assessment.
Connell, who has no previous convictions, had her bail continued.
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