BEHIND BARS | 

‘Manipulative’ fraudster who conned nursery out of hundreds of thousands is jailed

“She led us to believe that the business was failing and she mocked me for constantly putting in strategies to save money while she went to Dubai and New York and other extravagant holidays while we struggled”

Today at 07:25

A Co Armagh nursery group that was conned out of more than £200,000 by an employee said she was “treated like family” as the fraudster was jailed for 23 months on Wednesday.

Outlining how Lisa Marie McGuckin used her ill-gotten gains to fund holidays to Dubai and New York, Judge Patrick Lynch KC ordered the 45-year-old to serve half her sentence in jail and the remainder on licence.

“I do not know whether you have any shame at all, but you should hang your head now,” the judge told her at Craigavon Crown Court.

Last December, McGuckin, from Rose Cottages in Portadown, entered guilty pleas to two counts of fraud by abuse of positions.

Between September 15, 2011, and July 11, 2019, she defrauded £203,498 from her employers at Cots and Tots Ltd by transferring the cash out of their account.

She also defrauded the Drumcree Community Trust by transferring £1,918 from their account to her own account. Both businesses are in Portadown.

Opening the facts of the case for the first time on Wednesday, prosecuting counsel Ian Tannahill told of how McGuckin’s frauds were committed in broadly the same way against the two companies.

In relation to Cots and Tots, a business that provided childcare for kids from birth to the age of 12, McGuckin had been working as a financial administrator with control and access to the pay roll, outgoings and tax matters.

In 2019, a bankruptcy agency contacted the other directors to alert them that McGuckin had been declared bankrupt and “could no longer act as a director”, a matter which came as “something of a surprise to them” because as far as they were concerned, she was not a director.

That led to an audit of the accounts and it transpired that McGuckin had made dozens of unauthorised transfers from Cots and Tots straight to her own account.

Mr Tannahill told the court that, in total, McGuckin had transferred just under £308,000, but taking into account her wages, that brought the fraud down to £203,498.

Regarding Drumcree Community Trust, the barrister said McGuckin had been employed in a similar role but her offences came to light when the company “became aware of the allegations at Cots and Tots”.

When they checked their accounts, they uncovered that McGuckin had been doing almost the exact same thing, essentially transferring money to herself over and above her salary.

The fraudster attended voluntarily for police interview, and while she admitted her offending, she highlighted there was “huge personal trauma in her family at the time” including that her father had been convicted and jailed for sex offences against multiple victims and her husband had come out of prison having developed addictions to drink, drugs and gambling.

However, Mr Tannahill emphasised that while McGuckin did admit her guilt, there were additional aggravating features including that she defrauded two victims over a protracted period of time and had used the money to fund a lifestyle that she could not afford.

Defence counsel Jonathan Browne said McGuckin had admitted to police: “I did all that I could to keep my family together [but] I’m sorry for the hurt that has been caused.”

He added that the statement described McGuckin as “extremely manipulative and willing to do anything possible to try to avoid facing justice”.

The defence had argued that McGuckin’s mental health difficulties, her PTSD and the situation with her husband and father warranted suspending any prison sentence, but the judge rejected that and jailed her.