Sheffield Crown Court: Fraudster jailed after she conned her DHL bosses out of over £70,000

Sheffield Crown Court heard on October 11 how Maxine Holland, aged 52, had been working as an assistant finance manager for DHL Supply Chain UK finance when she used a company credit card to withdraw £7,784.25p and created false invoices to withdraw £62,968.66p for herself.

Matthew Burdon, prosecuting, said Holland was employed by DHL and had been working as an assistant finance manager and she misused a company credit card and created false invoices using a dummy company to siphon off money.

Judge Peter Kelson KC said: “Punishment can only be activated in this case by an immediate prison sentence. This was sophisticated offending over a prolonged period of time in an abuse of a position of trust with a sophisticated aspect and one cannot overlook offending – in my book – on this scale.”

Mr Burdon explained Holland had a company credit card for occasional company purchases but the defendant’s manager launched an investigation in February, 2019, after she became aware of suspicious purchases. An auditor identified suspicious purchases amounting to 22 transactions valued at £7,784.25p, according to Mr Burdon, and a security operations manager also spotted altered invoices creating false records amounting to £62,968.66p.

Mr Burdon added several payments had been made to a company dubbed Solutions for Catering for supposed services but checks revealed there were no such arrangements but this name was linked to the defendant’s account. Holland, of Highgrove Court, Bessacarr, Doncaster, claimed she had accidentally used the company credit card in 2015 instead of her own and then the overall fraud had begun from that point onwards.

The defendant, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to the fraudulent use of a company credit card and to fraudulently creating false invoices to obtain payments through a dummy company. Nicola Hornby, defending, said: “She is a parent who has always tried to strike the right note as far as her children are concerned and she feels very much she has let them down as well as herself.”

Some of the proceeds from the offending had gone to others, including a TV and printer cartridges, according to Ms Hornby, and there had been an element of passing things on. There was no evidence of the defendant leading an extravagant lifestyle on the back of the money, she said.

Ms Hornby added: “She recognises, as do her family – who sit in court – the very serious position she has put herself in. She stands to lose her home as a result of confiscation proceedings that will inevitably follow and she has strained her relationship with her husband who is clearly supportive but he will see a lot of what they have about to go down the drain.”

Judge Kelson, who sentenced Holland to 18 months of custody, acknowledged the defendant had been involved in charity work and a dance school and she has expressed remorse. He added: “These cases give judges no pleasure whatsoever. Dealing with a woman who has so obviously been a good influence in the community and so deeply involved in charity actually makes the sentencing exercise no easier.”