A mother-of-two has avoided jail after stealing nearly £100,000 from her employers, which she spent on hotels and clubbing.
Megan Reynolds, 28, stayed in lavish hotels, enjoyed five-course dinners and went clubbing in Amsterdam, using company cards before attempting to hide them in fake invoices.
Reynolds defrauded electrical machinery firm CSL Power Systems out of £78,000, who described her as a "compulsive liar", between 2019 and 2021.
At her sentencing at Maidstone Crown Court, the court heard how her bosses caught and dismissed her.
Megan Reynolds has been described as a 'compulsive liar'
A month after being dismissed, she joined another firm, fraudulently spending £18,500 of the company's cash on her own amenities.
The court heard that she took an additional £1,000 using her boyfriend's name and details without his consent.
Reynolds also lied to her boyfriend, saying she was pregnant with a fake scan and faked a family member having cancer to get time off work.
After initially entering a not-guilty plea, she changed to a guilty verdict less than two weeks before she was due to stand.
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Reynolds avoided prison after a judge decided that, given her role as a mother of two small children and having not committed any further offences since being charged, putting her behind bars would be too extreme.
The prosecutor, Nick Sanders, explained how fraudulent payments included car insurance for her vehicle, holiday bookings on Hotels.com, a five-course dinner and spending at a nightclub in Amsterdam.
Sanders said: "She abused her position of trust and was sophisticated in nature."
Judge Julian Smith countered, saying: "I do not think it is particularly sophisticated, more wounding and hurtful, but not particularly sophisticated."
Reynolds was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court
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However, the judge noted that the offences were examples of "persistent dishonesty".
He said: "Having faced the victims now, reflect on what it was about you to put your selfish wishes, superficial desires above everybody else. You were a fraudster. You were thieving."
Reynolds has been handed a total suspended sentence of 45 months for the three counts of fraud, all suspended for two years and to be served concurrently.
She was given 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 200 hours of unpaid work.
The judge concluded: "You are being given a chance today because of your two children. If you breach this order what you are telling the court is that you do not care.
"I do not expect to see you again. If I do, I am giving you a warning, do not let your children down."
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