Trusted employee of Kingswinford firm stole £107,000 over four years with the help of a social media friend

Michelle Blackman worked for Triflow Concepts Ltd and sent money to Christopher Minott 26 times and was only caught due to a lockdown audit.

Blackman, 48, from Wood Leasow, Bartley Green, Birmingham, and Minott, 44, of Bideford, Devon, spent the money on clothes, cars and jewellery.

The pair were friends on social media and Blackman used Minott's bank accounts to send money for bogus payments from her employers.

She had been appointment accounts administrator at the kitchen tap manufacturer in 2016 and plundered cash until 2020.

Her position meant she was responsible for payments to creditors and could amend details on invoices before giving them to her general manager.

She changed the bank account to which payments to Royal Mail were paid including an "overpayment" of £15,803.89, which sparked her bosses suspicions. They then discovered another business, 'Pen and Ink', which Blackman had invented a business address for.

In March 2020 the company carried out an audit of its payments to creditors and discovered Blackman's consistent invention of bills to send money to Minott's accounts.

As well as sending money to Minott's accounts, Blackman made several cash withdrawals between 2016 and 2020.

When confronted with her crimes Blackman claimed she had been under strain and had meant to pay the money back.

Triflow Concept's general manager Michael Southall gave a victim impact statement to the court revealing the thefts had caused "a lot of stress and additional work".

Blackman was sentenced to three years in prison at Wolverhampton Crown Court. She previously served an eight-month sentence for cheque fraud and has appeared in court for managing a brothel.

Minott was jailed for two years. He had previously been found guilty of selling class A drugs.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Rhona Campbell said the crimes were "greedy and unpleasant".