A secretary who worked at a diversified farm business has been jailed for three years and four months for fiddling £270,000 from two farming brothers.
The secretary, Stephanie Worthington, fiddled the money in a six-year case of fraud, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
She pumped some money into a farm shop she ran at the premises. More went to a fencing firm she operated with her husband. She used the farm's money to pay one of her tax bills and also for electricity at her home.
But police found no assets in the name of Worthington, 50, of Stone Cottages, Kinoulton. She was sent to prison for three years and four months after admitting fraud between February 1, 2009 and March 31, 2015.
Judge Rosalind Coe QC told her: "Even though you never worked out how much money you had taken, the reality is you were aware of the number of transactions which were going on.
"The harm caused was not simply financial. There has been a sale of land to recover money, a tax bill incurred, accountancy bill and significant distress caused to a family business."
'Devastated'
Alan Murphy, prosecuting, said the farm business was owned by two brothers and had operated for 40 years in Newark.
From 2005, they employed Worthington as a secretary and book keeper. She was paid between £1,700 and £2,400 monthly.
"Between 2013 and 2015, one of the brothers became concerned that the financial situation seemed tight. He asked the defendant about this and she gave him answers which seemed credible and he took the matter no further," said Mr Murphy.
"The total amount was £270,025 over 270 fraudulent transactions over a six year period," said Mr Murphy.
Worthington had worked up to 100 hours a week for the farming brothers and was "devastated" at what she had done.
