Shop workers in Whitchurch Co-op fraud must repay £16,000
Eight women who scammed the Whitchurch supermarket they worked using coupons have been told to repay more than £16,000 between them.
The group who all worked at a Co-op branch in Whitchurch misused ‘swipe and win’ coupons to save thousands on shopping throughout 2016, and they were convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud last October.
On Friday at Shrewsbury Crown Court they were ordered to pay thousands of pounds in compensation, with one, Lana Kennedy, told she must pay £5,709.50. Kennedy, 22, of Alkington Road, will pay £100 a month.
Sally Smith, 49, of Caldecott Crescent, will pay £2,299.99.
Yazmin Moore, 27, of Wrexham Road, will pay £800. She registered £9,644.25 with the fraudulent discounts but last week the court heard that her circumstances meant she would only be able to pay a fraction of that.
Sophie Birch, 21, of Gilberts Lane, Coton, will pay £1,018.06 while Mandy Moore, 49, of Edward German Drive, Whitchurch, will pay £425.29.
Louise Wyke, 39, of Wem Road, Tilstock, will pay £772 and Susan Broster, 59, of Wrexham Road, will pay £3,300.
Michelle Carson, 43, also of Wrexham Road, will pay £1,009.70.
Laminated
The total cost of compensation to be paid by all of the women is £16,334.54.
Each of the women except Carson will also pay £200 for the costs of the prosecution. A further hearing will go ahead to determine Carson's position regarding the costs.
Prosecutors had intended to recover the money through the powers of the Proceeds of Crime Act but instead applied for the court to award compensation because of the flexibility this allows.
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Kevin Jones represented the prosecution at Friday’s hearing.
The women worked at the former Co-op branch, in Wrexham Road - since taken over by McColls - when they misused ‘swipe and win’ coupons which gave money off the total cost and reductions for specific goods.
Coupons were kept back by some of the group and used repeatedly. One £10 coupon was even laminated so it could be re-used, the court was told.
In October, Smith, Kennedy, Broster, Yazmin Moore and Mandy Moore were sentenced to 14 months jail suspended for two years.
Birch, Carson and Wyke were sentenced to 12-month community orders.
