Fraudster caught in Tinder swindle stole £43,000 from work to pay con artist lover

Fay Roberts, aged 59, siphoned off cash from Ifor Williams Trailers to pay for a purported building contract in the Philippines for her businessman boyfriend, "Charles," who she met on the dating app.

However, he proved to be a con artist, as did another man who duped her called "Mick" who claimed to be from the Tax Office and able to get her a refund of £260,000.

Mold Crown Court heard how she converted the money to Bitcoin to pay the scammers, who disappeared with her cash without a trace.

To find the funds for "Charles" and "Mick", Roberts, who worked as an administrator for the trailer company at its head office about 20 minutes west of Llangollen in Corwen, Mid Wales, took lump sums of up to £5,000 at a time.

Part of her role was taking cash from customers and banking it with a security company. Only she and one senior manager at the firm had access to the money.

She had been working there since November 2021 but, after a while, the firm's finance manager Emma Cleland started investigating her when she noticed "anomalies" with the figures.

The court was told how Ms Cleland tried to speak to Roberts on a number of occasions, who came up with excuses not to, and said she was "busy".

A visit was made to the site in October 2022 to investigate the finances and why there was a black hole of several thousand pounds in the accounts, but Roberts told bosses she had banked £48,000 the previous day.

"At that stage the financial team took her word for it," said Maria Masselis, prosecuting. However, the cash was still not showing in the company's account in the days that followed.

Roberts was asked to produce a banking slip on November 2 for the £48,000 transaction she claimed had happened, but could only provide one for £51.60.

The next day, when she "realised she was under attention," she called in sick.

The finance team looked into her work emails, where they found contact with "Charles" and discussions about sending him money.

When she returned to work, Roberts was confronted by Ms Cleland and "broke down," Ms Masselis said. "She admitted stealing the money. She said she had been blackmailed by a man she met on Tinder. She said she paid him and another man called Mick in Bitcoin."

Her fraudulent activity was carried out over three months from June 29 to October 1, 2022, and she stole a total of £43,628.40.

Roberts was sacked from the company, whose trailers are used by farmers and constructions workers in Shropshire and beyond.

She went to the police to admit what she had done and tell them that she herself had been a victim of fraud.

However, the money she sent, which went to accounts in Nigeria and South Africa, cannot be traced.

Roberts, of Maes Tegid, Bala, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position.

Daffyd Roberts, mitigating, said this was not a typical fraud case of "greed", where the culprit has gained money to fund a "lavish lifestyle".

"She was foolish to fall victim to a romance scam," he said. "She lost all her money. She accrued debts to her family.

"She always intended to repay the money she took."

Mr Roberts added that she was "a hard worker", and was the primary carer for her mother who has dementia.

"The remorse she has demonstrated is genuine," he said. "She is shameful of the way she has behaved.

"She has behaved out of character, and this has been a salutary lesson to her."

Judge Timothy Petts told Roberts: "You only stopped because your employer investigated the discrepancies.

"The impact of such frauds is considerable, not only because of the amount taken - which will be a substantial blow - but the management time to investigate."

"Some frauds can be well disguised," the judge added, referring to the romance scam which Roberts herself fell victim to. "But alarm bells should have been ringing clearly.

"You have shown remorse which I accept is genuine."

He said that while her conduct was "reprehensible," sending Roberts to prison would "cause harm" to her mother, who relies on her for care.

The judge sentenced her to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years, 250 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity days.

He also said that no order for compensation could be made as she has no assets.

"Ifor Williams will have to go through county court," he said.