An accountant who embezzled £1.4 million from a construction company over more than a decade, using the funds to purchase a Harley Davidson for her husband, has been mandated to repay £250,000.
Deborah Thorlby-Hall, aged 54, indulged in lavish vacations, including a cruise and a trip to Barbados, a Range Rover Evoque, and home renovations by exploiting her position to funnel money into her personal Halifax bank account.
To cover her tracks, Thorlby-Hall fabricated invoices, falsely categorizing the transactions as ‘payments to large suppliers’ to make them appear legitimate.
The leadership at SDE Group, located in Stanfree and Staveley, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, expressed their discontent, stating that the sum she must now return is insignificant compared to her theft and the damage she caused.
Vicky Mee, the current finance director of the company, noted that Thorlby-Hall was known for never repeating an outfit and frequently received packages at the office. Staff assumed her builder husband was simply prospering.
Thorlby-Hall has now been ordered to pay back some of the money or face further time in prison after being handed a Confiscation Order totalling £256,805.33 at Derby Crown Court
Thorlby-Hall, pictured with her husband on their wedding day, spent £27,000 on the Postcode Lottery, £28,000 on Amazon, £87,000 at Next and gifted £240,000 to her husband and son
A picture of the Harley Davidson her husband shared on social media
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mee explained, “It’s a family business, and she had been with the company for many years. Initially, she worked under a qualified accountant, and when that person left, she assured everyone of her ability to handle the role, earning their trust.”
‘They put a lot of trust and they were all friends and it feels like a real betrayal. The value they are going to get back is nothing like what she stole.
‘It was so personal and she had been doing it for so many years – the directors and shareholders even went to her wedding.
‘She was drip feeding and made it hard to find, she knew what she was doing.’
Derby Crown Court heard Thorlby-Hall started stealing from the construction firm in 2008, having been taken on as an accounts assistant three years earlier.
The court heard that when she started stealing she had been in charge of finances for 18 months by which time she ‘knew the system inside out’ and had overall control of the access to the accounts package.
The court heard how her grip on finances at the firm was strengthened when its finance director left and she was given the role, regularly attending directors’ meetings.
The former care worker was ‘living a lavish lifestyle’ far beyond her means.
She splashed out on a Harley Davidson for her husband and spent £27,000 on the Postcode Lottery, winning £183,000, splurged £28,000 on Amazon and £87,000 at Next and gifted over £240,000 to her husband and son.
Her fraud was uncovered when external accountants were unable to reconcile Thorlby-Hall’s books with bank statements.
She had started working for the firm when it was still relatively small, the court heard. Over the years, turnover increased significantly but ‘profitability was not rising accordingly’, the external accountants discovered.
The court heard that when Thorlby-Hall was interviewed in 2019 she tried to blame on the external accountant – who was herself arrested and interviewed by police.
While a company probe into its accounts continued in 2019 Thorlby-Hall went off sick with stress and never returned, however she later attended the office on a Sunday to clear her desk, where she accessed the company accounts – making one final transfer to herself of over £7,000.
She was found guilty after a trial of fraud by abuse of position and false accounting and jailed for six years in October 2024.
Thorlby-Hall, formerly of Worksop has now been ordered to pay back some of the money or face further time in prison after being handed a Confiscation Order totalling £256,805 at Derby Crown Court on Monday.
She will have three months to pay back the money which will be returned to the victim.
Prosecutors who secured the confiscation order said they had identified more than £250,000 of assets that are available and can be liquidated.
Luke Clements of the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘Deborah Thorlby-Hall started stealing from her employer in 2008 and continued her crimes for over a decade.
‘She abused her position and worked hard to ensure she wasn’t discovered, while frittering away the stolen money on holidays, luxury vehicles, and gambling.
‘We have ensured that she cannot continue to benefit from her crimes and that all her available assets can be rightly returned to the victim.’
