Crooked HMRC worker stole £200k of taxpayers cash to pay off debt and mortgage
by David Meikle · Daily RecordGet the latest Daily Record breaking news on WhatsApp
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info
A crooked HMRC worker who swiped almost £200,000 of taxpayer cash to clear debts and pay off her mortgage is facing jail.
Joanne Connell, 37, plundered huge sums of money while employed in a government department in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire. She used members of the public's details to create fake credit notes and put the money into her own bank account.
Her fraud continued while she was working from home on a work issued laptop. She also helped herself to money while off sick with meningitis and a bleed on the brain which she claimed impacted her memory.
An internal probe revealed fraudulent activity and brazen Connell told investigators she had used £100,000 to clear debts and siphoned a further £80,000 towards her mortgage.
Other sums were given to her aunt and a neighbour during the scheme which stretched between April 2022 and April last year.
Connell, of East Kilbride, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted the embezzlement. The court heard no money has been paid back.
Depute fiscal Neil Thomson said: "Joanne Connell worked with HMRC for 15 years in various roles and during this was processing income tax and self-assessment returns on a computer system which she exploited in this fraud.
"Due to home working and sick leave, it was committed on an HMRC laptop from her home address and she created fraudulent credits on unsuspecting taxpayers. She then paid these credits into her bank account which her HMRC salary was also paid into.
"There are limited circumstances in which such credits are created legitimately and a note should be placed on the record but she made no record to explain these credits.
"A review of internal systems demonstrated her fraudulent activity on this computer system where she continued taking sums of £500 and £3,000 until sums increased in June 2022 where she took £35,000 on four occasions."
The prosecutor added: "She was believed to have contracted meningitis and was then placed in hospital with a bleed on the brain. She indicated to her manager that she had difficulty following instruction but it seems she continued to perpetrate this embezzlement throughout sick leave.
Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.
You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.
All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in!
If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like.
To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
"She was arrested in March last year and admitted the fraudulent activity and stated she had paid £100,000 worth of debts off and she later confirmed she had paid almost all of her mortgage off and stated she had given money to her aunt and the partner of her next door neighbour."
Sheriff John Hamilton KC deferred sentence on first offender Connell until January for reports and continued bail. Connell had originally been accused of pocketing £291,499 but pled guilty to the lesser amount.
Prosecutors have launched confiscation proceedings against her to recoup the stolen cash.
An HMRC spokesperson said: "Joanne Connell abused her knowledge of the tax system to commit this fraud and was dismissed from HMRC in July last year following an investigation by our Anti-Corruption Unit.
"We are absolutely committed to the highest level of integrity and will track down the tiny minority who let us all down by falling short of those standards."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter .
Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.