A mother-of-three who stole nearly £600,000 from her employer to pay off her teenage son's drug debt has been jailed for four and a half years. Susan Rennie, 51, siphoned £587,471.24 from health IT provider Ascribe while working as a purchase ledger supervisor.
Bolton Crown Court heard that Rennie used about £200,000 of the stolen money to pay off debts her 18-year-old son had accrued from a cocaine addiction. The rest was spent on holidays, cars, and other personal expenses.
Rennie, who had previously been convicted of benefit fraud and theft from another employer, began her offending in October 2009 with a fraudulent transaction of £11.50. Over time, she made 105 false or duplicate invoices, with the final two transactions each worth £33,000.
The court was told that Rennie's actions had significant consequences for Ascribe, which supplies IT solutions to the NHS. The company spent £125,000 on investigations and was sold at a loss, with profits down by £175,000, reducing its value by up to £3 million.
Judge Graeme Smith said Rennie appeared to have 'an addiction to taking money' and had abused her position of trust. Detective Constable Kate Mason of Greater Manchester Police said greed had got the better of Rennie, who spent the money on homes, clothes, socialising, cars, and holidays for herself and her husband.
