Sarah Tyler (Image: South Wales Police)
Last Updated: 54 seconds ago
A legal manager who took £883,976.93 from the Cardiff law firm she had worked at for 13 years has been sent to prison for four years and four months.
Sarah Tyler, 58, of Coundley Close, Fleur-de-Lys, admitted fraud at Cardiff Crown Court. The offending took place between January 3, 2016 and November 18, 2021.
Tyler has since been declared bankrupt. That means the firm is unlikely to get any of the money back through a compensation order.
Using others to move the money
Tyler worked for Hek Jones, a conveyancing and debt recovery practice in Cardiff. Over almost six years, she used family members, friends and people she knew on Facebook to move the firm’s money into her own account. None of them knew what was really going on.
She would transfer money to one of them, claim the payment had been sent by mistake, and ask them to return it to her.
Some of the money was client funds held by the firm. Some had been set aside to pay tax to HM Revenue & Customs and the Welsh Revenue Authority.
Christopher Evans, prosecuting, said: “There was an element of sophistication and planning to this offence.”
Confronted by her employer
Mr Evans told the court how Tyler reacted when her boss raised the payments with her: “She responded by apologising and accepting that she had abused her position. She confirmed that no one else was involved and that it was her doing.”
The firm’s statement
Hek Jones director Alexandra Jenkins described the damage to the business in a victim personal statement read to the court.
“She was a trusted and respected member of the firm,” she said. “There was nothing to suspect she would engage in the criminal conduct that followed.
“The emotional impact on the directors was immediate – we were shocked, distressed and felt deeply betrayed.
“It has placed a significant burden on the company.
“The stress, worry and uncertainty have been ongoing.
“Our business has suffered an immeasurable loss and the impact will remain with us on a daily basis.”
Mitigation
Tyler had no previous convictions. The court was told she has a gambling addiction and kept chasing her losses. It also heard that she drank heavily and has mental health problems. She is single and has daughters.
Hashim Salmman, representing her, said: “One of the crazy things about this offence is that there is nothing really left which makes it so senseless.
“Her best mitigation is her early guilty plea – she made immediate admissions to her employer and the police.”
Sentencing
Judge Vanessa Francis said Tyler had always known she would be found out: “You said you knew it was only a matter of time before you were caught.
“You described it as a ticking time bomb.
“You knew what you were doing and you knew it was dishonest.
“This was an extraordinarily large sum on money.”
She accepted that Tyler was sorry, adding: “I accept that your remorse is genuine.
“You describe your actions as absolutely disgusting and vile.”
Tyler was jailed for four years and four months. She will have to pay a victim surcharge once she is released.
