East Kilbride tax worker could be jailed after stealing nearly £200,000 to pay off debts

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An East Kilbride tax worker could be jailed after stealing nearly £200,000 to pay off her mortgage and other debts.Joanne Connell used taxpayers' details to create fake credits and then transferred the money to her personal bank account.She later told investigators the scam had enabled her to clear "pretty much all" of her mortgage.Connell, 37, of Kincardine Place, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Friday.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android She admitted embezzling £193,00 between April 22, 2022, and April 1 the following year.Connell had been accused of taking £291,499 but her guilty plea was accepted to the lower amount.Neil Thomson, prosecuting, said she worked for HMRC for around 15 years and held various roles during that time, including in the bankruptcy team and in self-assessment returns.It appeared she committed the crime on an HMRC laptop while working from home and recovering from meningitis.Records showed she first transferred £500 to her account but Mr Thomson told the court: "The sums then increased and she transferred £35,000 on four occasions."Connell was off work from June 6, 2022, to April 1, 2023.

She is believed to have contracted meningitis and was admitted to hospital with a bleed to the brain that developed into an abscess."At that time she told her managers she had