Letting Managers Admit Theft in Fraud Cases

Letting agency managers thought Nicole Knight was a workaholic who even logged in to read her emails while on holiday.

They were so impressed with her attitude to work that she was trusted to handle thousands of pounds of rent and deposits handed over by landlords and tenants.

However, their trust proved misplaced when a massive fraud came to light, revealing that her secretive approach to work was actually a way of covering her tracks while she looted the agency's bank accounts of £78,000 over three years.

Reading Crown Court heard that her employer, Hampshire letting agent Sansome and George, nearly went bust due to her criminal actions.

Knight admitted the theft of £78,481 from the company between October 2020 and October 2023.

She was bailed without conditions for sentencing on a date to be fixed.

Director Paul Bampton read an emotional victim impact statement, saying:

"The strain continues to take its toll. I've given my whole working life to this company—twenty-eight years of blood, sweat and tears. This act, by a person I trusted, almost tore the business down.

Would the business survive? What would be the impact on our reputation? The burden was huge; I struggle to understand how someone could be so selfish. She has a total lack of remorse for her sickening greed and dreadful actions."

He explained the agency had to draw on every penny in the bank to "put things right," which cost more than the theft Knight was charged with.

Lettings manager admits £16,000 theft

Lettings agency manager Ross Young pleaded guilty to stealing £16,680 from a branch of Belvoir between January and October 2019.

Young scammed the money by issuing fake invoices allegedly for work carried out at properties managed by the agency.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard that Young was caught when an accounts manager became suspicious of the fake invoicing.

As a manager, Young was in charge of hiring staff and promoting the company, and had access to computer systems and the company credit card.

The accounts manager contacted some companies Young's paperwork claimed had carried out the work, only to find they had no instructions from Belvoir.

Young was initially charged with stealing £31,154, but the charge was reduced ahead of his guilty plea.