Cheating finance director from Epsom sent to prison

Amy Cullen, of Pam’s Way in Epsom, was sentenced to three years and six months imprisonment at Kingston Crown Court, on Friday, December 14, after being found guilty of 16 counts of fraud by abuse of position and one count of theft by an employee.

The Lagoon Trading Company, a manufacturer and distributor of children’s games and puzzles, based in Glentham Road, Barnes, spoke of its "real betrayal" after  it discovered that the 35-year-old had defrauded the company of £75,000 between 2007 to 2010 when she worked there as finance director and company secretary.

The mum-of-two first started working as part of the 12-strong team in 2005 and Simon Melhuish, a director at the company, said nobody suspected Cullen of any wrongdoing until after she was made redundant in 2010 and auditors looked into the company’s accounts.

He said: "The auditors found discrepancies which led them to missing money. She had charged personal expenses, manipulated accounts and made large payments to herself.

"We had no idea what she was doing. It was a complete shock and everyone thought it was a real betrayal because it’s a small team and you have to be able to trust everyone."

Mr Melhuish, 52, said Cullen’s actions had affected the 24-year-old company’s morale and business.

He added: "It’s been a difficult few years anyway within the retail market in this country and losing £75,000 has had an effect. It has been bad for staff morale too.

"She’s shown no remorse. She denied it throughout and the basis of her defence seemed to be to attack other people in the company which has left everyone angry.

"But we’re pleased with the guilty verdicts as it’s been hanging over us for two years now which has been pretty unpleasant."

When asked what Cullen wanted the money for, Mr Melhuish said: "It’s really hard to know, but I know the prosecution alleged during the case that they were spending beyond their means throughout the period."