THINGS smelt a little off in a Welsh pharmacy recently, when a shopper attempted to return a bottle of perfume they had purchased online.
The discovery sparked pharmacy owner, Raj Aggarwal, into action and it soon became apparent that the store's executive manager, Maria Andrade, had stolen 127 Chanel products worth 7,620, and flogged them on eBay.
A subsequent internal investigation revealed that Andrade's online side hustle was just the tip of the iceberg.
As a trusted assistant, Aggarwal had given Andrade responsibility for the pharmacy's finances, which in hindsight was not a great decision, as investigators found she had manipulated the payroll by including details of former employees who were not due to be paid and diverting funds into her bank account.
Newport Crown Court heard that between Jan 2015 and Nov 2016 Andrade obtained just under 38,000 through this creative accounting process, while she took another 10,000 by claiming Aggarwal had agreed to lend her the money.
WalesOnline reported that Andrade sent a further 7,430 offshore, claiming it was to pay for tax in Germany, however, the funds were directed to her brother's struggling construction company in Portugal.
In total the once trusted employee's deception cost the pharmacy 62,860 (A$115,000).
While Andrade admitted to three counts of fraud, apart from these matters her lawyer said she was an "impeccable employee".
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 01 Apr 19
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