High-flying fraudster jailed for swindling agency

Mother-of-one Sarah Syed claimed that she had been "headhunted" to join the Jark Industrial employment agency in November 2008 but four months later she resigned because she felt dissatisfied with her working conditions.

Syed was recruited on a wage of 25,000 with the prospect of her salary rising to 30,000 after six months.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Syed, who lives in Oldham, tendered her resignation by email, but three days later in February 2008 she went into the company's office early in the morning and took a number of cheques.

Prosecutor Dave Mackay said on the same day two cheques totalling almost 6,000 were paid into the account of Syed's daughter.

A further cheque for just over 3,300 was paid in four days later and Syed presented another cheque for 4,200 later that month.

Syed was arrested in April 2008 and claimed that the company had not been paying her properly and she was owed bonuses.

The court heard that in July last year a warrant was issued for Syed's arrest, but she was not traced until July this year.

Last month Syed, 32, admitted four charges of fraud relating the cheques on which she had forged the signature of another employee.

Her barrister Tahir Khan told Judge Jonathan Rose yesterday that Syed had been successful in recruitment consultancy over a number of years and had a good job prior to joining Jark.

"My instructions from her are that she was headhunted amid promises that she would have a good job building a team of recruitment consultants," submitted Mr Khan.

"None of that materialised and her working conditions became difficult to the point where she came to the conclusion that she had no future with Jark."

Mr Khan said his client claimed to have been working 60-70 hours-a-week and at the time her emotional state was fragile.

"Her behaviour in taking the cheques was wholly unjustified and she accepts that," he said.

Judge Rose told Syed that some might describe her as a high-flyer who had made something of her life and had good employment.