A woman who embezzled a five-figure sum of cash from Perth insurance giant Aviva has been spared prison.
Joy Pumayi was sentenced to unpaid work after admitting pilfering thousands of pounds from her bosses by processing bogus claims in the names of real clients.
Pumayi made more than £13,000 through the fraudulent scheme at the company’s Perth HQ.
The 28-year-old was sacked for gross misconduct when her eight-month scam was exposed.
An internal probe found she was processing fake claims and directing the money into her own bank account.
Sheriff Richard MacFarlane sentenced her to 175 hours of unpaid work, to be completed within a year.
Defending, solicitor Linda Clark said her client had taken the opportunity to pay back the entire sum to Aviva.
She said: “I think it’s clear that she is clearly embarrassed and remorseful for all of this.
“She’s not deemed someone who is likely to re-offend.”
Paid back all the cash
Mrs Clark explained Pumayi had embezzled the funds to pay five-figure loans she took out to cover legal fees which stemmed from a civil case involving her family in which she was eventually successful.
“She’s not a silly woman,” Mrs Clark added.
“After the offences came to light, she has had other jobs in a similar vein in positions of trust.”
None of Aviva’s customer’s accounts or premiums were affected by the embezzlement.
Sheriff Richard MacFarlane had given Pumayi the opportunity to pay the cash back voluntarily, which Perth Sheriff Court heard she had done.
The sheriff said: “You were in a significant position of trust, having no doubt worked your way up.
“Mrs Clark has touched on the background. There’s a great deal of that.
“We clearly have a human situation and a need for money when you were unable to meet any of your outgoings.”
Genuine remorse
He continued: “You say in the report that you constantly worried that you would get caught but that didn’t deter you from continuing with the activities.
“You have shown remorse.
“I always worry about the quality of remorse when someone has been found out.
“Sometimes the view taken is that the regret is that they were found out.
“I accept that you do really regret what you found yourself doing.
“I accept that at an early time, you did try to make amends.
“You’ve lost your job. You’ve perhaps lost other work because of this.
“That in itself is a significant penalty.
“It’s never a great thing to have on your CV.
“The possibility of a custodial sentence is a very real likelihood but I’m persuaded that there is an alternative.”
Insurance company scam
Pumayi, of Airthrey Avenue, Bridge of Allan, previously admitted embezzling the cash between January 4 and August 4, 2017.
The court heard her job involved processing claims from Aviva customers.
At a previous hearing, fiscal depute Elizabeth Hodgson said: “The accused had a limit of £2,500 and was able to approve any amount within this limit.
“On January 4 2017, the accused processed a payment for £660.
“It was presented in such a manner that it appeared to be the value of a chest of drawers, which had been destroyed by flood damage.
“It related to a genuine customer, however this rationale was fabricated.”
Pumayi directed the payment into her own bank account.
Another payment of more than £2,300 was processed by Pumayi in a similar manner on March 10 and another of just under £2,500 on May 17.
On June 16, she processed another fake claim for £7,480.
Because the amount was outside her limit, a supervisor needed to authorise it.
“An internal investigation was launched after suspicions were raised by a colleague,” Ms Hodgson said.
The matter was later reported to police.
