Embezzling Aberdeen grandmother ordered to repay £668,000
The first offender channelled funds to a fake client while working as an administrative assistant.But a senior partner in the firm reviewed company records and noticed that funds were down, and the crime came to light.
Depute procurator fiscal Sineidin Corrins, at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), 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."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tax the rich more to fill black hole in public finances, Labour members tell Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer is under growing pressure to introduce a wealth tax to fill a black hole in public finances, after new polling shows almost all Labour members back the move. The prime minister has been urged to adopt a 'radical change of direction' after a survey, shared exclusively with The Independent, showed that 91 per cent of party members think the government should tax the rich more. It comes after deputy prime minister Angela Rayner pressed Rachel Reeves to consider eight wealth taxes rather than impose cuts on departments in a leaked memo earlier this year. Former shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds also weighed in, backing a wealth tax and warning that spending cuts will not 'deliver the kind of fiscal room that is necessary'. It comes amid mounting questions over how the government will raise the money to fill the black hole in the public finances left by a series of major U-turns and spending commitments, with the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) – a leading economic think tank – last month warning the chancellor is facing a £41.2bn shortfall. Ministers have already squeezed their departmental funding in cuts unveiled at last month's spending review, meaning most expect the chancellor will have no choice but to raise taxes instead. The polling, conducted by Survation for Compass, also found 84 per cent of Labour members want the government should end the two-child benefit cap – a policy which is increasingly unpopular among Labour MPs. Former Labour MP Jon Cruddas, founder of Labour Together and a former policy coordinator for Labour minister Ed Miliband, told The Independent:"The danger now is that the leadership are way out of step with the membership and potentially the country in terms of the policies needed to head off Reform." He added: "These are exactly the ideas we tested at Labour Together and are the basis for winning and transforming the country. The leadership should be listening to members – not out-of-touch factions." Neal Lawson, director of Compass, said the polling showed that Sir Keir Starmer 's 'fence-sitting and aping of Reform's rhetoric isn't wanted'. 'The government were elected on a promise of 'a decade of national renewal' and so far they've tried to cut welfare for disabled people and suspended the whip from MPs who disagreed. 'Party members think what the general public think - that Labour offered change and now simply has to deliver on it. Without a big reset, then the keys to Number 10 are being handed to Reform and Nigel Farage', he added. Last year, just months after Labour took office, the whip was stripped from seven MPs – including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell – for voting against the cap. And in July, the prime minister also suspended Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff from the party for voting against the government's controversial welfare cuts. The polling indicated Sir Keir's party membership thinks he has been too heavy-handed on party discipline, with some 74 per cent believing that challenging the government on controversial legislation should not result in the suspension. It comes amid growing concern over the direction of Sir Keir's government from voters on both the left and the right, with the prime minister's approval rating hitting an all-time low last month. John McDonnell, who served as Jeremy Corbyn's shadow chancellor and lost the Labour whip last year, told The Independent that the survey 'confirms how starkly out of touch Keir Starmer is'. 'It's time for Keir not just to start listening to people beyond the Westminster bubble but also taking some decisive action. All people are saying to him is to behave like a Labour prime minister should', he added. Meanwhile, left-wing MP Rachael Maskell – who led the rebellion against the government's welfare cuts and is strongly in favour of a wealth tax – said it shows that party members are 'clearly attuned to the injustices that they see in their communities'. As Sir Keir embarks on his second year in office, Ms Maskell said the government should ensure the agenda is 'marked by progressive tax policies to be invested in public services and community priorities'. Labour MP Richard Burgon, who was stripped of the whip last year, said the party must 'urgently change course'. 'Unless the Labour leadership completely changes its approach, it will continue to lose support and will open the doors for a Reform government. 'Instead of ignoring Labour members and punishing MPs who stand up for their constituents, the Labour leadership should start listening — and urgently change course', he said. A Labour spokesperson said they do not comment on polling, but added: 'Labour's urgent task when we took office was to fix the foundations after 14 years of Tory chaos. Our next priority is to create a fairer Britain for working people.' 'Through our plan for change we have already boosted the minimum wage for three million of the lowest paid, we're rolling out free school meals, and we're delivering free breakfast clubs for primary school children. 'The stability we've brought to the economy has also seen five interest rate cuts, which means homebuyers now pay £1,000 less on their mortgage than they were a year ago. There's much more to do, but that's the change this Labour government has started to deliver after 14 years of Tory decline', the spokesperson added. The polling surveyed 1,024 party members between August 5 and 6.
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Southport victim's family criticises police plan to share suspects' ethnicity
The family of one of the three girls killed in the Southport attack last year has criticised new police guidance that recommends forces share suspects' ethnicity and nationality with the public. The interim guidance by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing comes after mounting pressure on police to increase transparency around the identity of offenders. Police forces have been instructed to share suspects' ethnicity and nationality with the public after authorities were accused of covering up offences carried out by asylum seekers, and in the wake of riots sparked by social media disinformation after the Southport murders. In an interview with The Guardian, Michael Weston King, the grandfather of Bebe King, who along with Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar was killed by Axel Rudakubana, said the ethnicity of serious crime suspects is 'completely irrelevant'. Disclosing the race and immigration status of high-profile suspects became official police guidance on Wednesday. 'I not only speak for myself but for all of the King family when I say that the ethnicity of any perpetrator, or indeed their immigration status, is completely irrelevant,' Mr Weston King said. 'Mental health issues, and the propensity to commit crime, happens in any ethnicity, nationality or race. 'The boy who took Bebe had been failed by various organisations, who were aware of his behaviour, and by the previous government's lack of investment in Prevent. As a result, we were also failed by this.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called for more transparency from police about suspects, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said that he 'absolutely' believes that information about charged suspects' immigration status should be made available by police. It is hoped the change could combat the spread of misinformation on social media, after Merseyside Police was criticised for not revealing the ethnicity of Rudakabana when he was arrested after he attacked a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport in July 2024. Within hours of the attack, posts spread on the internet claiming the suspect was a 17-year-old asylum seeker who had come to the country by boat last year. In the first press conference after the event, at 6.30pm that day, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy told journalists the suspect was originally from Cardiff. But the police statement did little to quell the misinformation spreading online, and the next day, riots began across the country.
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
The empires strike back as Premier League enters uncertain new era
It's a line being uttered by many in the Premier League, that maybe says more than intended. Liverpool, in the specific words of one fearful rival, have 'destroyed the market' this summer. Everybody expected the champions to buy from a position of strength, but the thinking was the usual astute signings and maybe one big one. Liverpool have instead gone for real game-changers. And, in the process, maybe changed the Premier League. They look set to claim the signing that Arsenal long wanted in Alexander Isak. They've already beaten Manchester City to the signing of Florian Wirtz, and that less than three years after Jurgen Klopp spoke of three clubs – including City and Isak's Newcastle United – who can 'do what they want financially'. Maybe, after all the talk of 'Moneyball', this approach is just the 'maturation' of an investment fund's approach to football. Maybe there's something more going on. There is certainly a new assurance about Liverpool's business, at a time of new uncertainty elsewhere. Because, if you look at the last eight years of the Premier League, the one true certainty was that you had to be almost perfect to beat Pep Guardiola 's City. Now, the 'Catalan era' of their Abu Dhabi ownership faces a series of new challenges. The biggest is something that is now mostly going unsaid, although part of that is because it has absurdly gone on so long that people can't keep saying the same thing. 'The City case' is currently expected to have an outcome in late September or early October. It's just that we heard the same about February and Easter. That prospect nevertheless means that a second successive season faces the threat of the table being drastically changed by a regulatory case. City, of course, insist on their innocence. Even if they are vindicated, there are other challenges. We will see Guardiola take on a task he has never faced in 17 years, which is the rebuilding of a successful team. City's changes were more gradual over 2019 to 2022. That rebuild also comes at a point where Guardiola, probably the figure that has been the greatest influence on modern tactics, faces sudden questions over whether those tactics are moving beyond him. It is another element that will bring out defiance from the Catalan. An inexperienced new squad is going to have to rise to that, which brings another variable, as Hugo Viana also succeeds Txiki Begiristain as sporting director. Rayan Cherki almost personifies the debate, since he's a mercurial talent who brings magic, but doesn't always guarantee application. This can go either way. It can admittedly go a different way if City respond to Liverpool's business with the mega signings of Rodrygo and Gianluigi Donnarumma. As it is, there are more uncertainties about City than their two main recent challengers. Liverpool are the champions, actively trying to go to another level. Arsenal have been fixtures in the top two over the last three seasons, but just need to develop that depth that allows them to go one step further. We know what both are about. Thomas Tuchel has meanwhile argued that the Club World Cup 'will have a huge impact' and 'give Liverpool and Arsenal a huge advantage'. Victory there may work against a strong Chelsea, and the way they have gradually built a stacked squad. Some of this could actually come down to different interpretations of Guardiola's ideology. While Liverpool look to be aiming for more individual brilliance, Arsenal are seeking even greater control. One offers more imagination, the other much more solidity. We then await to see Guardiola's own team. As classic as a Liverpool-Arsenal rivalry would look, however, it could also herald a new era. These are the two most prominent US ownerships in the Premier League now, at a point when American capitalists are exerting more influence than ever. The financial restraints that PSR represent are actually a uniquely European idea, given that former Uefa president Michel Platini initially wanted to recreate stringent French regulation, but agitators increasingly cast its evolution as 'American influenced'. Much of that debate is extremely misplaced, but the current system has still led to a situation where the empires are striking back. If 2024-25 was characterised by many of the Premier League's best performers coming from the 'middle classes', many of them – like Matheus Cunha and Joao Pedro – have moved to the old 'big six'. Such purchases alone illustrate a reversion to old strategies, as clubs realise proven Premier League experience is worth the extra price. Liverpool might offer another solution there, in how they allowed 'PSR headroom' to rise over three frugal windows before going big. You only have to look at Manchester United 's spending, even if it casts a different light on redundancies and Jim Ratcliffe's comments about possibly going bust. Such strategies aren't something upwardly mobile clubs like Aston Villa can execute to the same degree. Football really needs to have a more serious discussion about its distribution of wealth and talent – not PSR. If the expectation is consequently that the old powers reassert their positions, there are other uncertainties. Almost half of the Premier League, at nine clubs, are in Europe. These extended campaigns are going to cause chaos, especially for good sides less used to them like Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, and even Newcastle. This has been cast as most obviously benefiting Ruben Amorim at Man United, given the precious extra time to coach, but most interesting here might be Brighton. Could this be the season their constant replenishment raises them into the Champions League – especially if there is an extra place up for grabs? And what of the bottom three? A resurgent Everton can finally look up but Brentford are looking at new realities. Thomas Frank's quiet assurance is now at Tottenham Hotspur. Will that be enough to change another trend caused by these wider forces, which is how quickly the promoted three go back down? Sunderland, Leeds United and Burnley will have to really stretch themselves. Much of this may be settled by another big theme of the summer, which has been the resurgence of strikers. The season may come down to which of Viktor Gyokeres, Hugo Ekitike, Benjamin Sesko or Joao Pedro settles best in this very expensive game of musical chairs. No 2025-26 preview can go without respectful acknowledgement of the tragic passing of Diogo Jota. This Liverpool squad are grieving, and it's impossible to know how they will respond over the long term. It's also impossible to think of a situation in modern English football comparable to this, where the champions must cope with such profound tragedy. Discussing deep human grieving in the context of football feels incongruous, and almost in bad taste, but the reality is the game is still going to be played. This is part of that context. The weekend's fixtures, sadly but beautifully, will see a lot of tributes to Jota. The fixtures are also, minutes later, going to bring clarity to some of these uncertainties. The Premier League's great quality is that it has a remarkable capacity for new storylines. The wonder is whether we're entering a new era.
