A mum-of-two who pocketed nearly £100,000 from her employers which she splurged on Tefal pans, hotel stays and clubbing in Amsterdam has avoided jail.
“Selfish” Megan Reynolds, from Rainham, totted up lavish expenditures across various company cards before attempting to conceal them through fake invoices.
Maidstone Crown Court heard how the now 28-year-old had set up a “network of dishonesty” and had a history of of telling mistruths, including pretending she had cancer to get time off work, and telling a former boyfriend she was pregnant by providing a fake scan.
In total, she defrauded electrical machinery firm CSL Power Systems out of £78,000, who described her as a “compulsive liar”, before she was caught and dismissed in March 2021.
But, only a month later she joined another firm, ATL Retail Limited, where she continued her behaviour – again fraudulently spending £18,500 of the company’s cash.
Her dishonest habits didn’t stop there however. In October 2021, it was discovered Reynolds had taken out a finance agreement with Creation Finance for over £1,000 using her then boyfriend, Callum Bishop’s name and details.
Reynolds had initially denied the offences and a trial date was set for February this year but then, less than two weeks before she was due to take the stand, she changed her pleas to guilty.
At her sentencing at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday (July 4), the court heard how Reynolds, of Fruit Fields Drive in Rainham, had pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud and a further three counts were ordered to lie on file.
During her role at CSL Power Systems in Farningham, near Dartford, between November 6, 2019 and March 26, 2021, Reynolds undertook the book keeping and had access to the company credit cards and would assist colleges by making online purchases on their behalf.
But instead, the court heard she was using the 11 company cards to make fraudulent transactions, and tried to conceal them using fake invoices.
When an employee noticed a purchase did not have a matching receipt, she tasked Reynolds with reporting it to Barclaycard Bank – an action she did not take, instead providing “fictional” updates to the company.
But by February, 2021, when an employee found a bank statement for an EasyJet flight in her name, the police were called and discovered no fraud had been reported to the bank.
That evening, while employees investigated, they found emails were being remotely deleted by Reynolds and she was told to stop.
The prosecutor, Nick Sanders, explained how fraudulent payments included car insurance for her vehicle, bookings on Hotels.com and a five-course dinner, along with spending at a nightclub in Amsterdam.
To cover her tracks, the court heard how an invoice for a spill kit, valued at £75.96 was used to cover-up a purchase of dog chews Reynolds had made.
Meanwhile, an invoice for black frames actually matched the purchase of a 5-piece set of Tefal pans. The total amount of fraud at the company was £78,000, the court heard.
But after being dismissed, within a month she was working at another firm in Sevenoaks, ATL Retail Limited, from April 26, 2021 until January 17, 2022.
It was only through a chance meeting with someone from CSL that Reynolds’ fraudulent past became knowledge to her new employer.
ATL Retail Limited made Reynolds redundant and discovered a number of fraudulent transactions, totalling £18,500.
But as well as deceiving the two businesses, the court heard how Reynolds had also been deceiving her former partner Callum Bishop from February 2019 until they split in October 2021.
The night before he left he found a letter for a financial agreement from Creation Finance in his name for over £1,000 that he had never taken on. He rang the company and found out Reynolds’ mobile number was linked to the loan.
The prosecutor said: “She abused her position of trust and was sophisticated in nature”.
But Judge Julian Smith said: “I do not think it is particularly sophisticated, more wounding and hurtful but not particularly sophisticated.”
The court heard how the now 28-year-old, had been charged with six fraud offences, including two counts of fraud by abuse of position and four counts of fraud by false representation in 2023.
I do not think it is particularly sophisticated, more wounding and hurtful but not particularly sophisticated
Only three fraud offences, regarding CSL Power Systems, ATL Retail, and Callum Bishop were pursued by the Crown Prosecution Service and the other three charges were ordered to lie on file.
The judge added: “She had quite the network of dishonesty set up.
“£78,000 is a lot of money and certainly a lot of money whether it’s personal or business.
“It’s a very substantial impact and it is exploitative. She saw an opportunity and went after it again and again and again.”
He said Reynolds was “dishonest” and “deceitful” and sought to enrich herself personally at others expense.
“She was given a fresh start and then did it again – straight away,” the judge added.
Her defence solicitor, Lucy Kennedy, explained how the victim impact statements had caused Reynolds “considerable distress” and that her actions were driven out of “greed” and she is “mortified”.
Relaying Reynolds statements, the defence solicitor said: “None of it was worth it. That is not me anymore.
“I am devastated that I have hurt them in such a way that they cant trust others in the way they used to and I am devastated that I have caused so much trauma to them.”
The court heard Reynolds was “petrified” to face her victims in the court room and has acknowledged she could be sent to prison, so had packed a small suitcase which she brought into the courtroom.
The court heard how the 28-year-old now has a four-and-a-half month old baby who was born prematurely and is immunosuppressed while also being lactose-intolerant.
And while the court heard that both baby’s fathers are present in their children’s lives, the judge considered the fact Reynolds was the “principle” caregiver and was still breastfeeding her baby.
Meanwhile, Ms Kennedy explained Reynolds’ son, aged two, had undergone eye surgery for a squint and is due to have another surgery.
While explaining that Reynolds’ offence was a “modern day fingers in the till” she then urged for a suspended sentence, keeping in mind her son, two, and her daughter, four-and-a-half months – adding “that is not her anymore”.
“Keep the three of them together,” Reynolds solicitor said.
In response, the prosecutor explained how Reynolds had often told lies in the past, such as pretending to a family member she had cancer to get time off work, telling Mr Bishop she was pregnant by providing a fake scan, and lying about her dog having cancer.
While he said he did not doubt that Reynolds had children, the prosecutor referenced her perpetual lies to urge the judge to question information given by the mum-of-two.
In his remarks, the judge said the three offences were examples of “persistent dishonesty”.
He said: “Having faced the victims now, reflect on what it was about you to put your selfish wishes, superficial desires above everybody else.
“You were a fraudster. You were thieving,” he added.
Given Reynolds had not committed any further offences since being charged and her role as a mother to two small children, the judge handed the 28-year-old a suspended sentence of 24 months in prison for the first count, 15 months in prison for count two, and six months in prison for count three, all suspended for two years and to be served concurrently.
She was given 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 200 hours unpaid work.
You are being given a chance today because of your two children.
Judge Julian Smith added: “You are being given a chance today because of your two children. If you breach this order what you are telling the court is that you do not care.”
A further hearing is set to organise a timetable of repayment for the money stolen.
“I do not expect to see you again. If I do, I am giving you a warning, do not let your children down,” the judge said.
Following the conclusion of Friday’s hearing her former employer CSL Power Systems recorded their disappointment at what they believe to be an unduly lenient sentence.
”As a company and on a personal level we are thoroughly disappointed with the sentencing ruling by the judge and feel it has sent out the wrong message in today’s society,” a spokesperson for CSL Power Systems.
“Essentially you can steal 100K from honest businesses and walk away without ever seeing the inside of a cell as long as you have a well-timed pregnancy!”
The company explained how the length of time between her crimes and sentencing has meant the victims had to wait four years for her to be brought to justice, while Reynolds had carried on with her life, in their view, “without a care in the world”.
The company claim Reynolds has never shown any remorse, or apologised for her actions.
They described her as a “compulsive liar”, adding: “We let Miss Reynolds into our lives, and after COVID she worked from offices in our home and we thought she was also a friend.”
