The theft, which took place over a two-year period between 2022 and 2024, ultimately drove the company into liquidation
A woman has been jailed after stealing £50,000 from a firm while her boss battled cancer.
Donna Pope, 47, from Bickerstaffe in Lancashire, has been sentenced to three years and two months in prison after defrauding her employer of at least £50,000.
She exploited the company credit card belonging to Ultimatum Group Ltd while its managing director, Eddie Tucker, was away receiving treatment for cancer.
Preston Crown Court heard that Pope had "betrayed" Mr Tucker's trust and caused "irreparable harm to his life, family and business".
The theft, which took place over a two-year period between 2022 and 2024, ultimately drove the company into liquidation.
Pope used the firm's credit card to fund overseas holidays, gym memberships, online shopping and motor insurance payments.
Mr Tucker was frequently absent from the business during this period as he underwent medical treatment.
His absence gave Pope the opportunity to carry out the fraud largely unchecked.
The court was told that Pope's offending spanned roughly two years.
During that time, she steadily siphoned money from the company while its director was at his most vulnerable.
Mr Tucker told the court: "She was improving her life while mine was falling apart."
The fraud came to light after auditors were brought in to examine the company's finances.
When initially confronted, Pope offered the explanation that the business credit card had been accidentally linked to her PayPal account - a claim she later abandoned when she entered a guilty plea to fraud.
Although prosecutors accepted a figure of £50,000 as the established sum, Mr Tucker himself believes the actual amount taken was in excess of £100,000.
The discovery of Pope's criminal conduct proved fatal to the business, with Ultimatum Group Ltd forced into liquidation as a direct consequence of the financial damage she had inflicted.
Recorder Ayesha Siddiqi described Pope's conduct as a "deliberate and sustained" fraud that amounted to a clear "abuse of trust".
She noted that Mr Tucker's illness had left him in a "vulnerable" position, adding: "You knew he was unwell and needed time off work."
The recorder told Pope that her actions had produced "very severe implications for Mr Tucker and his family".
She emphasised that he had been left to absorb the debt personally at a time when his focus should have been on recovery.
Recorder Siddiqi said: "He's had to take on that debt himself, when he should be concentrating on his health."
