A TRUSTED employee who stole more than £587,000 from a Westhoughton firm to help pay her teenage son’s drug debts has been jailed for four and a half years.

During a five year period, Susan Rennie siphoned off the cash from healthcare IT specialists Ascribe, also using a chunk of it to fund holidays, cars and a house purchase.

Bolton Crown Court heard her crime had a devastating impact on the firm, wiping an estimated £3 million off its value when it was sold and causing colleagues to be cheated out of £29,373 in profit-related bonuses.

Rennie had worked as a purchase ledger assistant on a £22,000 a year salary, which she boosted dramatically by creating false or duplicate invoices from suppliers which would be paid into her own bank account.

Rennie, aged 51, of Martin Avenue, Lytham, pleaded guilty to fraud.

The court heard she already had convictions for benefit fraud and was serving a suspended prison sentence for stealing from a previous employer when she began working for Ascribe in October 2007.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “She began to take advantage of her position in October 2009. She would pay the supplier the amount as stated on the invoice, but would also pay the same amount into her own bank account.

“She also changed some of the supplier’s bank details to her own, so she would be paid instead of them.”

In total 105 fraudulent transactions were paid into Rennie’s bank account with a total of £587,471.24.

Her most recent crime came to light after she left the company in December last year and directors ordered an audit because the firm was not as profitable as they believed it should have been.

In January 2015, when the financial accounts were consolidated, a loss in the company’s value was discovered and after further investigation, Rennie’s theft was exposed.

The company contacted Greater Manchester Police and an investigation by the Fraud Investigation Team was launched, which culminated in the arrest of Rennie at her home in Lytham on Tuesday, March 17 2015.

Sentencing Rennie, Judge Graeme Smith told her: “Unfortunately you appear to have an addiction to taking money.”

Speaking after sentencing, Detective Constable Kate Mason from Greater Manchester Police said: “Rennie was placed in a position of trust, dealing with financial accounts.

“Sadly, greed got the better of her and she spent the majority of the stolen money on her homes, clothes, socializing, cars and holidays for her and her husband.

“These crimes represented significant financial losses for the victim company and Rennie showed no regard whatsoever for the damage she would cause.

“I hope that this sentence will send a message to those people who believe they can steal such a large amount of money from businesses and think they can get away with it.”