A woman has been jailed for stealing almost £94,000 from a cancer charity where she had worked for 27 years.
Paula Tribbeck, 48, said she was addicted to taking the money after police found countless invoices stuffed in bags in the back of a wardrobe at her house, Southampton Crown Court heard.
The court was told she was a manager in the financial department of the Wessex Cancer Trust, giving her access to several of the charity’s bank accounts.
Between 2013 and December 2019, she stole £93,813 by making multiple transactions from these accounts to her own, using names of suppliers the charity paid to cover her tracks.
The court heard that in August 2019, a staff member carrying out an audit noticed discrepancies and asked Tribbeck about it.
She was said to have become emotional and blamed it on her personal life.
Tribbeck eventually handed in her notice ahead of a disciplinary hearing in January 2020 and was arrested in June that year.
Tribbeck, from Broadlands Road, Southampton, appeared at Southampton Crown Court on 28 October, having pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position in September.
She was jailed for two years.
Detective constable Daryanne Ryan from Western Investigations said: “Tribbeck abused her position of authority to steal money which should have gone towards helping people experiencing the worst time of their lives.
“While she has shown remorse and wishes to repay the money she stole from the trust, her selfish actions left the charity in a very difficult situation.
“I am glad we were able to bring Tribbeck to court to face justice and hope this reassures the community that we take fraud seriously.”