Woman embezzled £13,000 from two playgroups

A SHERIFF has given a woman who embezzled more than £13,000 from two playgroups, more time to investigate how she can repay the stolen cash.

Sheriff Andrew Miller heard Michelle Bird was willing to repay the money she embezzled from Cradlehall Playgroup and Tiny Tykes Toddlers Playgroup, Inverness, when she was their treasurer between 2008 and 2011.

Her solicitor, Pauline Chapman, told Inverness Court today the mother of three, whose marriage broke up as a result of the case, was offering to repay £200 a month.

Sheriff Miller said he would give the 35-year-old time to consider her final position.

“The sums are significant. In the interests of these groups is there scope for further investigation of repayment options?”

He said he would give Bird, of Towerhill Place, Inverness, time to investigate if she could make a significant single lump sum to the groups, who played a key role supporting children and families in the community.

The case first called to go to trial in October 2012 but Sheriff Miller heard today that Bird had always acknowledged she had stolen money - the only issue was how much.

She originally denied embezzling £30,562 but, after a forensic examination of the accounts, a plea of guilty was accepted to a figure of £13,840.

Sheriff Miller heard yesterday how committee members from the Cradlehall Playgroup became so concerned they went to Bird’s home to demand financial documents and these were handed to them in shopping bags and boxes.

Papers relating to the Tiny Tykes playgroup were left by Bird in a box on a bench in the garden of one the committee members.

The court heard from her solicitor that Bird had no qualifications for the role and took it on because there was no-one else volunteering to do it.

Procurator Fiscal Andrew Laing revealed a debt of £6,746 was still owed to HMRC in unpaid tax and national insurance.

He said the two groups were based at the same school catering for pre-school children.

“Clearly she was in a position of trust and between January 2008 and April 2001 she abused that position to embezzle from both groups.”

Mr Laing said the groups were financed by Highland Council, parents fees and fund-raising activities.

But in 2009 he said it became clear there was something amiss when there was a problem with the Cradlehall Playgroup paying wages.

“Staff were being paid in cash at that time but it was only a proportion of their wages.

“Staff were concerned about the lack of paperwork and she was unable to produce any.”

The fiscal said after a committee meeting in January of 2011, when the matter was discussed, Bird went on sick leave.

It later emerged there was very little money in the group’s bank account. He said there was a change of mandate which allowed her to authorise cheques and to use playgroup funds.

“I understand she had unfettered, unsupervised access to the account and the bank account accounts were also sent to Bird’s address.”

The fiscal said members of the Cradlehall Playgroup contacted HMRC and found only part of the tax and national insurance due had been paid.

The sum now owed was £6746.

Bird was asked to attend a meeting of the committee in April, 2011, but she failed to attend and was voted off as treasurer and later resigned.

“She indicated to police she did not want to admit she was not coping with the financial paperwork. She was sorry about everything,” said the fiscal.

She offered to get a banker’s cheque for £2000 and repay the money owed at £300 a week.

The Tiny Tykes committee, who thought their finances were healthy, were shocked to discover only £12.06 was in their account when they began their own investigation.

He said she had been writing cheques for herself and her husband, paying some of them into her own bank account, and withdrawing cash from the groups for her own purposes.

On occasions she had taken cash from the Cradlehall group and paid it into the Tiny Tykes Group. “She was robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he added.

“She attempted to hide the situation from the committee until she could not longer keep it hidden.”

Mrs Chapman, on behalf of Bird, said the forensic accountants concluded there was a “severe lack of financial control” by the groups which contributed to the situation.

She said Bird had got in a position where she simply could not cope with the financial burden placed upon her.

“That does not detract from her culpability.

“There was no clever scheme. She simply carried on dealing with the finances in an inept manner and used money for her own purposes.”

She added that there was no question of the money stolen providing Bird with a lavish lifestyle and she was now effectively a single parent with three children to bring up.

Mrs Chapman added Bird had never been in any trouble before.

Sheriff Miller deferred sentence until May 29.

A spokeswoman for Cradlehall Playgroup said afterwards: “No words can describe what she has done. There were no accounts for three years because all the paperwork was being sent to her and we trusted her. If she couldn’t do the job she shouldn’t have done it. At committee meetings there were always excuses and we still have the debt to the HMRC and interest is being added to that daily. The children were left with very little but we have managed to fund raise and build things up. The future is brighter.”

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