Boakes started taking regular sick days towards the end of 2016, despite posts on social media showing her shopping or being abroad on holiday, police said.
Concerned, the director of the company searched for the payroll documents for the previous few years and discovered Boakes had been paying herself a higher wage than had been agreed. Since October 2014 until April 2017 she had overpaid herself by a total of £13,462.
Police said that further investigation discovered Boakes had used her inflated pay slips to purchase a car on finance. She had also diverted £103,450.26 worth of her employer’s funds into her personal bank account that had been disguised by using a fake company name.
Boakes was immediately suspended from the company, the director informed Sussex Police and her work computer seized. On this computer a job reference for a job application for her husband was found.
The reference falsely stated David Boakes, 54 of Sea Lane in Pagham, had worked for the steel company for two years and it had been signed by a fake employee ‘Janet Young’ – Boakes’s actual middle and maiden names, according to police
At Hove Crown Court on Monday July 15, Lynn pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud: fraud by abuse of position, fraud by false representation and making an article for use in fraud. David pleaded guilty to fraud by representation and not guilty to converting criminal property, which the courts decided would lie on file and no further action will be taken.
