Tuesday 4th November, 2014

A former finance director has been jailed for four years for stealing more than £300,000 from her employer in order to fund her shopping habit and buy household items. Karen Carberry, was found guilty at the Old Bailey on 31 October of one count of fraud by abuse of position.

Carberry was employed by Reed Recruitment for 11 years, firstly as a senior qualified accountant and then working her way up to director level. Carberry used fake qualifications at the start of her employment with the company.

She abused her position and employer’s trust by transferring money from the company’s accounts into her own online bank accounts. To cover her tracks she balanced the books and used her position of authority to dispel any balance deficits.

The fraud came to light when Carberry was away on holiday in August 2012, after the company’s accounts came under scrutiny by suspecting colleagues.

She was dismissed from the firm for gross misconduct.

Detective Inspector Robert Stirling who led the investigation for the City of London Police Fraud Squad said:

"Not only did she abuse her position of trust within the company and use her power to steal money, she also lied from the outset and claimed to have qualifications which she had never worked for."