The money-loving managers who stole from their own businesses to fund lavish lifestyles

Their fraudulent actions and abuse of trust saw them pocket thousands of pounds

These money-loving managers swindled cash from their own businesses to fund their lifestyles. Their fraudulent actions and abuse of trust saw them pocket thousands of pounds.

A former bank worker claimed to be a financially naïve and innocent 'charity' boss frittered away donations on her personal bills - including Sky TV and her Severn Trent water bill. Another greedy fraudster squandered cash on watches, phones and make-up.

Others claimed they didn't splash the stolen cash on lavish items - but still squirrelled away eye-watering sums. You can read more about the cases below.

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Rajbinder Kaur

This ex-bank worker claimed to be a financially naïve and innocent 'charity' boss who lived a 'chaotic' lifestyle. But she stole around £50,000 from her own organisation to pay for her own spiralling debts.

Generous donors who pledged cash to Sikh Youth UK (SYUK) via JustGiving thought they were supporting good causes, but they were actually paying for Kaur's personal bills - including Sky TV and EE. SYUK was formed in 2016, and formally applied to become a registered charity, but The Charity Commission closed the bid due to not receiving further information requested.

However, the organisation continued to receive countless donations, which Kaur - who once described herself as 'reliable, hard-working and trustworthy' on her CV - frittered away. She also took some of the £2,700 generated by a Vaisakhi event to meet her Severn Trent water bill, gas and electric bills, mortgage and solicitor fees.

The 54-year-old from Hamstead Road, Handsworth, has now been found guilty of six charges of theft and single offences of money laundering and supplying false information to The Charity Commission. Her brother Kaldip Singh Lehal, 43, of Cedar Avenue, Twickenham, was also convicted of the latter charge. They were both due to be sentenced on November 21.

Claire Reeves

This woman was once a 'trusted' office manager - but over the course of 15 years, she stole almost £700,000 from her company. Claire Reeves had been earning a good salary at Wilco Manufacturing, based in Tyseley and also enjoyed annual increases and bonuses.

However, she still chose to defraud the company by making hundreds of fake supplier payments to herself. Reeves, 52, of Berry Maud Lane, Solihull, even pocketed vast sums in years when other staff had to take pay cuts and the business was reeling from losing one of its biggest customers.

A PDF document on Reeves' office computer revealed she had been making payments to seven accounts in her own and her children's names. The 770 illegal transactions were hidden amongst payments to suppliers and totalled £675,920.23 over the 15-year period.

Birmingham Crown Court was told Reeves' deception had been described as a 'hammer blow' by managing director Martin Lane, who had to personally invest his own savings to ensure the company's survival. Reeves was jailed for four years after admitting a charge of fraud by abuse of position between May 2008 and August 2023.

Richard Aston

A refund scam saw this BMW manager swindle more than £62,000 in a refund scam. Richard Aston made dozens of fraudulent transactions in the space of a year after being promoted to parts manager at the Sytner Group dealership company.

Aston, from Great Barr, issued refunds to bank accounts belonging to his wife, a friend, and his brother-in-law. An internal investigation as to the actions established that he had made "a large volume" of unauthorised and fraudulent transactions, amounting to £62,320, over a 12 month period between March 2018 and March 2019.

He was handed a two-year sentence, suspended for the same period, after admitting a charge of fraud by abuse of position. He must also repay the illegal money he pocketed.

Laurna Porter

A probate manager and her pal were jailed for stealing a whopping £600,000 from deceased people's estates in a calculated fraud scheme. Laurna Porter and Julie Atkins from Tamworth diverted money from 23 estates over the course of 12 years to generate a "significant amount of money".

Porter, who worked at a law practice and a firm of solicitors in Tamworth, took funds from estates she handled and put the stolen funds into Atkins' bank account. The thefts took place between 2006 and 2018, and the pair would share their ill-gotten gains.

The Staffordshire fraudsters were both arrested in 2018. Porter was jailed for four years on April 25, 2024, after she pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and money laundering. Atkins was jailed for two-and-a-half years after she was found guilty of money laundering.

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Nida Khan

This greedy fraudster's firm had to shut down after she stole almost £100,000. Nida Khan worked for Nanobits Ltd, a company which sold goods online from 2018 and 2020 - and was put in charge in 2019 when the company owner and his son stepped back due to health reasons in 2019.

Between November 2019 and February 2020, Khan withdrew more than £88,000 from Nanobits to bank accounts in her name. She also used the company account to buy more than £5,000 worth of watches, phones and make-up. The company was forced to refund £15,000-worth of orders to customers for not being able to fulfil orders, bringing the total loss to Nanobits to more than £100,000.

Police said Khan, of Coppice Avenue, Wollescote, "continually lied in her accounts given right up until she finally pleaded guilty on the day of the trial". She was sentenced to four years in prison at Wolverhampton Crown Court on April 2 this year.