Bookkeeper jailed after £100k theft

JAILED . . . Kelsey Jade Hardman

A BOOKKEEPER who stole thousands from a family-run business urged the company to go into liquidation to hide her crime.

Kelsey Jade Hardman (33), of Shaw Road, Royton, stole nearly £100,000 over the course of 10 years from Manchester-based firm Keith Dyson Solicitors where she worked as a bookkeeper.

Sentencing Hardman at Manchester Crown Square yesterday, Judge Mansall QC said she had effectively been supplementing her salary by £9,000 a year with routine monthly payments.

Hardman, who stole £99,259.83, began working for the firm in 2004 and soon after began making payments into an account that belonged to her.

It was only discovered that Hardman had been stealing after the company's founder, Keith Dyson, died in February 2014 following a rare degenerative illness, and his daughter Elizabeth Dyson, from Saddleworth, took over the company.

The company had struggled financially as a result of Hardman's actions and Elizabeth sought advice from her about what could be done financially to save costs.

At one point Hardman, who is also known to live at Thorley Gardens, Heywood, deliberately left PAYE and VAT bills unpaid to force the company into liquidation, which may have seen her theft never discovered, the court heard.

But Elizabeth did not take that action and used her savings and £107,000 from her father's estate to keep the business afloat, something which caused rifts within the Dyson family.

On May 4 last year, Elizabeth spoke with Hardman about the finances and noticed a printout from a company that the firm was no longer doing business with.

When she questioned it, Hardman responded by passing her a bundle of letters and saying "see if you can sort that out", before walking out of the office, saying she needed to collect her son from school.

When Elizabeth went through the paperwork she found an unpaid bill that was the subject of High Court action - with bailiffs due to arrive the following day.

She also found payments going to Hardman's account, that thousands was owed to HMRC and that the business accounts were overdrawn.

When the firm first reported it to police, the force said resources would not allow them to investigate. Hardman was dismissed, but after the company sought another bookkeeper with a recruitment agency, it learnt Hardman was looking for another job, was concealing her past, and told police, who then agreed to take up the case.

Mr Staunton, defending, said Hardman had taken the money with the intention of paying it back.

She had found herself in a situation where she had gotten in too deep and was unsure how to rectify it, he told the court.

He said she had found herself in an abusive relationship and when she confided in her partner about her actions, she was encouraged to continue.

Urging Judge Mansall QC to show mercy, he said: "She is a caring individual. She acknowledges her wrong and sees the impact on others.

"She blames nobody other than herself."

However, Judge Mansall rejected his pleas saying Hardman had deliberately taken the money to "supplement" her salary and deliberately concealed it.

It was only after her "dishonesty" began to unravel that her actions became apparent. He said that while she had a six-year-old son, the seriousness of her actions meant only a custodial sentence would be suitable.

Judge Mansall QC said: "You have been systematically stealing from the business. It is, in my judgement, a gross breach of trust.

"In 2011, Keith Dyson was diagnosed with a rare degenerative illness, he continued to work despite his illness and you deceived him for the last few years of his life."

He said Hardman's dishonesty was the root of the company's financial problems.

"You told Elizabeth to consider closing it down," he added. "Had she done so you might have got away with this theft."

Hardman wept as she was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment.