A “naive” former Dundee restaurant boss convicted of fraud and embezzlement linked to the now-defunct Brassica restaurant has been given a community sentence.
Dea McGill, who was co-director of Brassica on Shore Terrace, swindled £20,000 from a finance lender by pretending the money was for bespoke furniture supply and spent a “sum of money” from the company account while on holidays and shopping.
The “high-end” restaurant was only open for a few months before it closed and went into administration in October 2018.
McGill, 56, appeared for sentencing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court after earlier being found guilty by a jury’s majority verdicts of fraud and embezzlement.
Defence advocate Sean Templeton highlighted the impact of the case and conviction on her reputation and ability to get work and asked for his client to be admonished.
Sheriff Krista Johnston told first offender McGill: “You appear to me to have been naive in taking on the role of director – an ambitious role – when you were ill-equipped so to do.”
Failed business
McGill had gone into business with local dental practice owner, Dr Rami Sarraf, who told a trial they wanted to establish a quality restaurant in the heart of the city to capitalise on flourishing tourism linked to the opening of the V&A.
He said he invested £50,000 in Brassica and the rest of the funding was to come from lenders to meet a start-up cost of around £400,000.
McGill was to run the operation and he would be a silent investor.
The 52-year-old said a verbal agreement was made that no money could be taken out of the business account until they started making profit, though this was not put in writing.
When the restaurant opened on June 14 2018 he became suspicious when he needed to inject more money into the account.
The court heard he paid in a further £76,000 between June 1 and July 2.
Dr Sarraf said he and his business partner were later given legal advice that the company, operating under the trading name TayOne Food Ltd, was insolvent and it went into administration.
He said there were “a lot of strange financial agreements” made in the company and debts were much higher than expected.
Dr Sarraf asked his then-dental practice manager to look at company bank statements and she flagged a number of suspicious spends.
Fraud and embezzlement
Jurors heard about transactions linked to a skiing holiday in France, spending in Croatia and at shops including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Hollister.
Dr Sarraf said when he challenged McGill she told him she would return the money to the company but he said she never did.
He later bought the restaurant from administrators for £50,000 and it traded until the Covid pandemic in 2020.
In cross examination, defence advocate Sean Templeton suggested Dr Sarraf had “used” McGill to set up a restaurant and when it was up and ready, he cut her out.
The dentist denied this and when Mr Templeton suggested he stole the company from McGill, Dr Sarraf said: “I took the company from a person who is running criminal activity, who is not helping.”
The trial heard McGill brought in a carpenter she knew, Danijel Vrbas, to build and varnish tables at the restaurant before its opening and he received payment from a lender, Armada Asset Finance, for a sum of £17,700.
On the same date there was another payment made to him for £20,000 but Mr Vrbas said he did not know about this invoice.
The court heard he was then asked by McGill to transfer this money to her.
Evidence was agreed between prosecution and defence McGill did pay over £10,000 into the company account.
Guilty
McGill had denied the fraud and embezzlement charges but was found guilty by majority verdicts.
She was found guilty of pretending to employees at Armada Asset Finance a contractor was “engaged to supply bespoke furniture” to the business and, knowing this to be false, applied for finance through leasing agreements to pay for it and fraudulently obtained £20,000 between February 1 and May 4 2018.
She was also convicted of embezzling a “sum of money” while director of Brassica, between December 4 2017 and October 8 2018.
Earlier in the trial, she was acquitted of another fraud charge concerning a different lender and an allegation she forged Dr Sarraf’s signature on a personal guarantee in exchange for a leasing agreement.
Speaking in mitigation this week, defence advocate Mr Templeton highlighted that in relation to the embezzlement, any money taken from the company account had been more than repaid by McGill.
Mitigation
On the fraud, he stressed McGill did not benefit personally and the money went into the company account to “prop up” the struggling business.
Mr Templeton said McGill is the person who “lost out most”, having put two years of her life into the project and come away with “nothing but debt”.
He stressed she has “not profited from either of the charges”.
The lawyer said McGill’s marriage “fell apart” and her family life, health and reputation have suffered.
He said: “She is now of the view she can not be employed in the area.
“This case in particular drew a great deal of local media attention and she has to carry about with her this conviction that is known to the public.
“She is unable to work as a result”.
Mr Templeton suggested his client has thus been “punished many times over” for her actions.
Sentencing
Sentencing, Sheriff Johnston added: “I accept on charge three (the £20,000 fraud) your actions were driven by a desire to make your business a success, albeit at cost to your integrity and honesty.
“You have expressed genuine remorse.
“You are assessed (in a social work report) as minimum risk of reoffending.
“This entire experience has taken its toll on your physical and mental health and impacted considerably on your personal life”.
The sheriff admonished McGill, of Fort Street, Broughty Ferry, on the embezzlement charge and gave her 150 hours of unpaid work in relation to the fraud charge.
A proceeds of crime hearing has also been fixed for March 20 next year.
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