School business manager jailed for stealing over £24,000 from funds
Roach faked a salary rise with automatic annual increases and used the school’s credit card to purchase items for herself. She opened an Amazon account with the credit card and, when asked by the headmisstress, refused to hand over the password for the school’s email account through which the fraudulent transactions were conducted.
When sentencing Roach, Judge Andrew Menary said that “the scale of the fraud and deceit was truly shocking”. Menary pointed out that the school is in an area of “high social deprivation”, and claimed that the impact of her actions on the school’s finances and reputation “cannot be overstated”.
Roach was good friends with the school’s head mistress Gill Jones. After Roach’s actions came to light, Jones said: “finding out Julie has stolen from the school and told so many lies about me and other people to cover her tracks is really upsetting. I placed so much trust in her. I feel a great betrayal.”
The total losses from Roach’s activities was £24,149. She pleaded guilty to two offences of fraud between March 2009 and March 2011 at Liverpool Crown Court.
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