Corby office manager six-figure fraudster used company card on Sky TV subscription, Just Eat and Nike clothes

Paula Burgess abused her role at marketing and events firm KCS Group Ltd in Brunel Road for personal expenditure on items such as a Sky TV subscription, food from Just Eat and Nike clothing, which she didn’t declare.

The 53-year-old was caught out after her three-year fraud when she suddenly resigned after being chased for her credit card statements. It was not her first fraud – having previously been convicted of misusing a business credit card to the value of £14,0000 when she worked at a medical practice in Oxfordshire.

On Monday (August 12) at Northampton Crown Court Burgess was jailed for two years and nine months after admitting fraud by abuse of position and fraud by false representation.

Prosecutors said Burgess, formerly of Corby but most recently of Thrift Street, Wollaston, was employed as KCS Group Ltd’s office manager and had been for about eight-and-a-half years. Staff were allowed to use company credit cards in their own name to buy authorised company items, which would be identified and invoiced, with any personal items not linked to an invoice deducted from wages.

Burgess was responsible for checking employees’ credit card expenditure and submitting figures – which prosecutors said meant she was able to carry out the fraud as she was the gatekeeper for any non-business related purchases.

The court heard her ‘unsophisticated’ fraud saw her use her own company credit card to pay for personal items which she did then not declare.

This included spending on clothing from Nike, a Sky TV subscription, Just Eat takeaway food and £1,500 on a vet bill. A court exhibit setting out ‘typical expenditure’ showed money spent on items such as flights, a Hello Fresh subscription and more.

The total value of the fraud was £103,612.03. Her employers were not insured for the loss and had to absorb it.

Burgess also fraudulently hired a Mercedes car against the company account, with the hire worth £571.20.

Her fraud came to light in January 2023 when she suddenly resigned having been chased for her credit card statements and a company investigation was then launched.

Prosecutors said Burgess declined to attend any meetings but suggested that she would seek to repay the money and that she apologised for her breach of trust and her lack of openness.

Burgess was interviewed by police in February 2023 and accepted that the card had been used for personal transactions, but asserted that it must have been other people using her card.

In her second interview she maintained that she had not been dishonest and said that the final responsibility lay with the business owner, prosecutors said.

A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing will take place in November. No custody image of Burgess was available from police.

KCS Group Ltd declined to comment.