A 51-year-old bookkeeper from Devon has been sentenced to four years in prison after admitting to stealing nearly £900,000 from her employer over an eight-year period. Deborah Wolstencroft, formerly of Wolridge Avenue in Plympton, pleaded guilty to six charges of theft totalling £877,000 from Marquesa Search Systems in Chagford, as well as one count of attempted theft of £4,216.20.
The court heard that Wolstencroft, who earned £15,000 a year, transferred the stolen funds into her own accounts between 2001 and 2009. She spent the majority of the money on luxury cruises, including voyages on the QE2, and tickets to fly on Concorde.
In mitigation, Wolstencroft claimed she stole the money to support her late husband after discovering his alcoholism, booking cruises to keep him away from drinking. However, Judge John Neligan at Exeter Crown Court described her actions as a 'planned system to steal' and a 'serious breach of trust'. He noted that her guilty plea saved approximately £100,000 in forensic accounting costs.
The judge imposed a four-year sentence for the thefts and a concurrent two-year term for the attempted theft. Wolstencroft had no previous convictions.
