Cashier admits theft from Black Country solicitors' firm
A cashier has admitted stealing an estimated £166,000 from the Black Country solicitors' firm where she worked.
Pauline Sutcliffe took the cash over a nine-year period but the firm has since gone into liquidation and there is "uncertainty" about the exact amount involved in the scam, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told yesterday.
The 58-year-old pleaded guilty to stealing £165,784.60p between April 1, 2001 and December 31, 2010 from Stables and Co, which used to have offices in Rowley Regis, Stourbridge and Halesowen. The business is now in the hands of the Solicitors Regulatory Authority.
The amount detailed in the criminal charge was based on the confessions of Sutcliffe but had not been independently verified because of the liquidation of the firm, the court heard.
The way she cooked the books to try to cover up the theft of cash paid into Stables by clients meant there was a danger of "double or even treble accounting," claimed Mr Robert Cowley, defending Sutcliffe.
He continued: "The money stolen was only ever cash handed over by clients and the only way that a true figure for the loss can be established is through the proper accounts of the firm that are now in the hands of the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. We do not accept that £165,000 is the amount involved. It could be considerably less."
It was agreed that the amount of money in the charge could then be amended if necessary in future, the court was told.
Sutcliffe from Wolverhampton Street, Oldbury, who was of previous good character, was remanded on unconditional bail until her next court appearance, provisionally set for the week beginning April 1, when she is expected to be sentenced and the case will be outlined in full.
Recorder Martin Forde QC told her: "At the moment the amount of money involved is all rather speculative. It is a very sad situation to see somebody of your maturity who has no previous convictions to be before the court facing a charge of this kind but at the level we are currently being discussed there would be a very high probability of a custodial sentence being considered."
