An agent who stole £4,800 from her employer over an eight-month period to pay off drug debts has been sentenced to 12 weeks in jail. She took application fees, due to be refunded to unsuccessful tenants, and put the money in her own bank account.

Heather McCarthy, 30, worked for a Belvoir office in Derby.

The local paper reports that she broke down as she was jailed.

McCarthy started shaking and wailed “I can’t” from the dock as she was handed her sentence at Liverpool Magistrates Court.

She said a “toxic” relationship led to her descent into a pattern of drug and alcohol abuse at the time of the offence. She had admitted the theft by employee after being confronted by colleagues.

The court heard she had a previous conviction for theft by employee and fraud dating back to 2011, which resulted in a suspended prison sentence and unpaid work.

District Judge Andrew Shaw said this time the sentence could not be suspended.

Angela Blackmore, prosecuting, told the court: “Monies were paid to the defendant’s account using electronic transactions. She was challenged by her employers and admitted taking money, and said it would be paid back.”

Ms Blackmore said McCarthy did pay back £200 when she was caught on April 20 this year, but failed to make any further repayments.

She was later arrested and admitted stealing from her boss, telling police she took the money to clear debts.

Laura Tipping, defending, told the court her client had made improvements to her lifestyle since the theft came to light.

She said: “At that time she found herself in a domestic relationship resulting in her turning to drink and drugs, a lifestyle she was not previously living.

“Unfortunately, as is often the case, that way led to a downwards spiral.”

However, she said her client had moved on since the offence and had been offered admin work at a consultancy firm, depending on the outcome of the court hearing.

But Judge Shaw said McCarthy had also failed to complete the unpaid work requirement on her previous sentence, although she was not brought back to court by the Probation Service due to “admin deficiencies”.

McCarthy became so upset in the dock that prison officers were unable to bring up new defendants, and Ms Tipping entered the dock in an effort to console her client.

McCarthy was ordered to pay the remaining £4,600 upon her release from jail.

McCarthy has evidently tweeted just once – congratulating her Belvoir team on winning a gold award at the ESTAs last year.

This morning, a Belvoir spokesperson said: “The crimes of this former employee came to light after she was questioned by branch staff in April of this year. It became apparent that she had been refunding non-successful tenant application fees back on to her own bank card over a period of around six months. Her methods were foolish because it was inevitable that this would be discovered.

“This has been a particularly distressing incident for everyone who worked alongside her. She was a hard working and dedicated member of the team at West Derby office who attracted really good reviews from clients.

“We are disappointed that she betrayed the high levels of trust invested in her and perhaps even more concerned to discover she had, apparently, committed a similar offence before joining the company two years ago.

“As a direct result of this case the office has strengthened its policies on the recruitment of new staff, with multiple reference checks and more detailed interviewing. The office has also reviewed and tightened its refunding system.

“On a personal level, the directors of West Derby office hope that their former colleague is able to resolve any personal issues that may have led to her offending and hope she can soon get her life back on track.”

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/ex-estate-agent-wails-jailed-13433436