Crooked granny who stole £1.5m from scrap metal firm ordered to pay back £670k
Coleen Muirhead was jailed for three years and four months in September 2023 after she admitted a charge of embezzlement.
A crooked granny who stole more than £1.5 million from her employers has been ordered to repay almost £670,000 under Proceeds of Crime Laws.
Coleen Muirhead was jailed for three years and four months in September 2023 after she admitted a charge of embezzlement.
The 57-year-old used the money stolen from Panda Rosa Metals to fund a lavish lifestyle that included pricey family holidays, two new cars, two static caravans and high end auction items.
Muirhead, from Aberdeen, also splashed out for full tables at charity events as well as buying alcohol for all those who attended.
Today at the High Court in Glasgow a confiscation order was made in the sum of £668,726.71 and recorded the benefit from her criminal conduct was £1,952,771.31.
The court also made a compensation order in favour of Panda Rosa Metals, ordering the entire sum of £668,726.71 recoverable as part of the confiscation proceedings is paid to her former employers
The confiscation order can be revisited if further assets are identified in the future to be paid towards the full amount that was determined as the benefit of the crime.
Sineidin Corrins, Depute Procurator Fiscal for Specialist Casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “Coleen Muirhead committed an egregious betrayal of trust by taking advantage of her position to embezzle money from her employers.
“Embezzlement is not a victimless crime. We take such criminality very seriously.
“This confiscation order underscores the fact that prosecutorial action against those involved in financial crime does not stop at criminal conviction and sentence.
“Even after that conviction was secured, the Crown pursued Proceeds of Crime action to ensure funds she obtained illegally were confiscated.
“Confiscation orders have ongoing financial consequences, meaning we can seek to recover further assets from this individual in the future to ensure she pays back the full amount.”
Muirhead’s illicit scheme was uncovered when she boasted of her style of living to a work colleague who was responsible for paying out company wages.
The colleague became suspicious Muirhead, who had worked for the family company since 2014, was living beyond her means.
Meanwhile, a separate review of company finances was carried out amid concerns over a drop in funds.
During that review, it was discovered Muirhead had been paying invoices to a bogus customer known as G. Anderson and depositing the money into her own bank account.
The review also uncovered five company accounts which contained her bank details.
Prosecutors told the court how Muirhead was responsible for dealing with invoices for allotted clients.
The review of company books, historical files revealed “G Anderson” as a significant customer, but senior company officials were unaware of his existence.
They then checked the financial details of “G Anderson” against the accused’s bank details and found the sort code and account numbers matched and subsequently informed the police.
Officers carried out a search of Muirhead’s home on October 9, 2021, and found documents that linked her to lavish spending.
On the same day, she sent a WhatsApp message to a colleague in which she said: “I have done Panda Rosa out of a lot of money. I was G Anderson. Police have just raided! Please don’t think the worst of me.”