A Welsh council has said it will keep reviewing its procedures after a judge expressed surprise that it had hired a woman he described as having "a dreadful record for being dishonest."
Karen Deakin, 56, received a 12-month suspended prison sentence after spending just shy of £7,000 on Pembrokeshire County Council company credit cards to fund her gambling addiction.
Previous Convictions and Hiring
Deakin had previously been sentenced for theft by an employee and false accounting in 1996, obtaining equity by deception in 2004, and making false representations for gain in 2012. Despite this, the council employed her in a financial role as a 'purchase cards officer'.
She used her own company card and the cards of two colleagues who had recently left to pay her rent and buy gifts on Amazon, spending a total of £6,915.24. The council said the true cost was closer to £10,000 because she was still being paid while suspended and under investigation.
How the Fraud Was Carried Out
Deakin, of Fleming Crescent, Haverfordwest, amended the credit limit and her manager's name herself, meaning any notifications about changes to the credit limit were sent to her. The addresses on all the cards were also changed to her home address.
She admitted what she had done to the police and explained she had been experiencing financial difficulties due to an online gambling addiction. The court heard she was extremely ashamed and sorry for her deception.
Judge's Remarks and Sentence
Passing sentence at Swansea Crown Court, Judge Geraint Walters said her previous convictions were "pretty unimpressive" in light of her most recent offending. He added: "You have on a number of occasions engaged yourself in not dissimilar offences and ones of pertaining property by deception. My surprise is that the vetting procedure by the council had not effectively discovered or had they discovered nonetheless decided to give you a job with anything to do with finance. That is not a criticism of the council but something I'm surprised about."
Deakin was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to repay the full sum to the council through £30 monthly payments.
Council's Response
Following the hearing, Pembrokeshire County Council said it takes any misuse of public funds "extremely seriously" and welcomed the sentence imposed by Judge Walters. A spokesperson said: "The council welcomes the sentence handed down in relation to a former employee who admitted fraud offences involving the misuse of council purchase cards. We are pleased that the fraudulent activity was detected and addressed, and we will continue to review our procedures and controls to help prevent similar incidents in the future."
