A trusted accounts manager has been sentenced to prison after syphoning off more than three-quarters of a million pounds from her long-term employer to fund a spiralling gambling habit.
A Systematic Betrayal of Trust
Susanne Redhead, 53, systematically stole £767,272 from Newcastle-based Pure Panel Management, where she had worked since 2010 and risen to the position of accounts manager. Her crimes, conducted through 445 separate transactions between November 2023 and January 2025, nearly destroyed the family-run business.
The scale of the theft became staggering in its final months. Prosecutor Gurjot Kaur told the court that Redhead looted £363,000 in December 2024 alone, exploiting the Christmas office closure to "completely wipe out the accounts." This left the company in "minus figures" for the first time in its history. In one particularly brazen seven-day period, she took £100,000.
Company Brought to the Brink of Collapse
The devastating impact on the firm and its staff was laid bare in powerful victim statements. Managing Director James Gillam said he was "shocked and annoyed" by Redhead's actions, which put the company on the brink of collapse and jeopardised the livelihoods of colleagues she called friends.
He revealed the depth of the betrayal with a specific example: the company had funded a staff outing to watch Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup quarter-final. "The previous evening she had stolen £18 from the team around her," Mr Gillam said. "I don't know how anyone could do what she has done."
Operations Director Helen Scorer branded the actions "utterly disgusting," stating, "She was part of our family and almost brought us to the point of bankruptcy."
Gambling Addiction Fuelled Theft
Redhead's crimes unravelled in January 2025 when, confronted about regular payments to herself, she was told to stop working immediately. Her response was: "I knew this was coming. I've been gambling."
Defending, Penny Hall explained that Redhead, who had no previous convictions, started by taking small amounts she believed she could repay. "Someone who has a gambling problem will always think they will win back the money they lost," Ms Hall said. She emphasised that the entire sum was lost to gambling, not a lavish lifestyle, leaving Redhead with "nothing to show for it."
Judge Tim Gittins, jailing Redhead for three years at Newcastle Crown Court, said the sums were "staggering." He told her: "You have devastated colleagues who treated you as a close friend and trusted you implicitly." Redhead, of Wroxham Court, Newbiggin Hall, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to theft.
The court heard she is "ashamed, embarrassed and genuinely remorseful." She will also face Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings in an attempt to reclaim any remaining assets.
