A fraudster has been jailed after she stole nearly £700,000 out of her colleagues' pension pots.
Gemma Phoenix, 44, was handed a four-year prison sentence after she pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position at Hull Crown Court.
Phoenix, of Hayton Avenue, Pocklington, worked as a bookkeeper and director of a taxi firm between April 2023 and August 2024.
She was responsible for managing business accounts, paying drivers and office staff, Humberside Police said.
Officers found she had stolen about £693,965 from the business.
Police said they had received reports that the firm's staff pension contributions were not being paid.
After an investigation, it was revealed they were being paid by Phoenix into her own bank account.
She disguised the transactions with names such as "pension" and "HMRC".
Gemma Phoenix was jailed for four years as she took about £693,965 from the business
|HUMBERSIDE POLICE
She claimed to have won the money through gambling - then even offered it to her friends.
The 63-year-old owner of the taxi firm told the court he was forced to take out a £100,000 loan and remortgage his home thanks to her fraud.
"I felt like my stomach had been ripped out," he said.
He told the courts the business employed 12 full-time members of staff with 300 taxi drivers working on a self-employed basis.
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Humberside Police said Phoenix's impact 'cannot be underestimated'
|GETTY
The business owner told the courts he trusted Phoenix "without question".
"She assured me my business would be in safe hands and I would have nothing to worry about," he said.
The firm was sold in September, and the owner told the court he received only half of what it would have been worth prior to the fraud.
He said: "It's devastating to no longer have the business that I worked so hard to build.
Phoenix was sentenced at Hull Crown Court (pictured) and ultimately caused her employer's business to be sold
| PA"I don't have any business at all now."
PC Chelsea Walker, who led the investigation, said: "The impact of what [Phoenix] has done cannot be underestimated."
PC Walker said she was "hidden in plain sight" as a trusted employee of the business.
"Not only did Phoenix steal people's hard-earned cash, she also severely impacted their future financial security and stability, with no regard as to how this would affect them," she added.