Woman spent most of €760,000 stolen from employer on high-end fashion

A woman who stole more than €760,000 from her employer over a six- year period, and spent most of the money on high-end fashion items, has pleaded guilty to 20 sample counts of theft at Donegal Town Circuit Court.

Tara Sweeney (47), of the Glebe, Donegal Town, originally faced 44 charges of theft and one charge of dishonestly appropriating documents from Donegal Educational Centre, of Quay Street in Donegal Town, between 2009 and 2015.

The court heard the separated mother of one was employed as an accounts administrator with full access to the company’s payroll and seven bank accounts. Her employer became suspicious in June 2015 after €173,000 had been taken from the company through invoices that benefited Sweeney.

When her home was searched in August 2015, gardaí found 10 refuse bags with a large number of documents from the Centre. An expenditure analysis of bank accounts in Sweeney’s name by a specialist firm showed 46 electronic credit transfers totalling €760,320.

Det Garda Kieran O’Brien told prosecutor Patricia McLaughlin that the bulk of the money was spent on high-end fashion goods on Pay Pal and Amazon and that one of the payments was for €26,000.

When questioned, Sweeney said she did not realise the amount was was large and that she had taken somewhere between €250,000 and €300,000.

‘Buzz’

The goods purchased included shoes, handbags, dresses and jewellery and were found in bags and boxes in Sweeney’s home. The court was told the goods were not bought for personal gain but for the “buzz” she got from shopping.

The court also heard that €51,567 had been stolen from the wages of other employee and Sweeney admitted her part in that in 2016. She admitted using the names of different companies to hide the fact that she was stealing from her employer. She also admitted using a credit card in the name of another employee.

Sweeney said she knew she was going to be caught when she resigned from the company in 2015. She said she was deeply sorry for the hurt and distress her actions had caused. The job was very stressful and she bought the items to make herself feel better, the court heard.

Defence counsel Peter Nolan said a Probation Report showed his client had made no personal gain from the thefts. He said they were a form of addiction and Sweeney had lived a blameless life up to that point. Sweeney was assessed as being at a low risk of re-offending.

Psychiatric reports assessed the defendant as not suffering from any mental illness although she was depressed in 2015 and was on anti- depressants.

‘Pariah’

Mr Nolan said her behaviour was catastrophic in a “local community where she had a high standing”. She now has no job, no prospects of a job and had become a “pariah”. The defendant had also lost her mother in recent years and her relationship had broken up.

Mr Noaln said all of items bought were unopened and were currently in Ballyshannon Garda station. Sweeney was prepared to put up her house, which was worth €200,000, as compensation, the court heard.

Judge John Aylmer said he would sentence Sweeney at the next sitting of the court in March.