A letting agent who embezzled more than £40,000 from her employer was caught spending company cash on a holiday to Benidorm.
Amber Milne admitted she “kind of f***** up” when she was confronted by her furious boss about the spending.
Milne had been helping herself to five-figure sums while working for Dundee-based BS Properties.
She further emptied the business bank account, which ended up being overdrawn by £25,000.
The 42-year-old is now at risk of being jailed after she admitted stealing the money between October 2017 and June 2019.
Suspect Spanish transaction
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how Milne, now living in Glasgow, began working for the South Tay Street firm as a letting agent in 2013.
The company, founded by Brian Stewart, has a portfolio of 150 different properties which are managed and let for various landlords.
Milne was responsible for a variety of duties and had access to the BS Properties bank account, including a bank card.
Prosecutor Joanne Ritchie explained how Milne was rumbled while spending company money abroad.
She told the court: “At some time in June 2019, the witness Stewart received a call from his bank, Clydesdale Bank, saying that his business cards were being used abroad in Benidorm.
“He drove to the Forfar Bank of Scotland branch to check on the account and noticed that the account was additionally overdrawn by minus £25,000.
“The witness immediately contacted the accused by phone and confronted her about this.
“She said she ‘kind of f***** up’ and that it was ‘only about 15 grand’. The witness said it was a lot more than that.”
Promised to ‘fix it’
Milne said that she was “going to fix it when she got back” and would try to obtain loans to repay the money before ending the call.
Police were eventually contacted and after more than a year of financial investigations, Milne was arrested.
Her bank records were previously seized and it was discovered that payments to her account were hidden under different titles associated with the business.
Various transfers to Milne’s bank account were noted which were originally in small amounts.
However, these grew substantially and it was found that Milne took £14,179 in 2017, £13,000 in 2018 and £16,651 the following year.
Milne pled guilty to embezzling a total of £43,830 while working for BS Properties Ltd between October 25 2017 and June 26 2019.
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael deferred sentence on Milne until next month for background reports to be prepared.
For more local court content visit our dedicated page or join us on Facebook.
