Huddersfield postal worker Karen Luke in court over £5,000 w

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Huddersfield postal worker Karen Luke in court over £5,000 worth of thefts

http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-we ... -30517687/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?

A judge was told that 47-year-old Luke was truly sorry for the spate of thefts she committed while working on the disabled persons counter at the New Street Post Office in Huddersfield.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Luke, of Grange Bank Close, Dalton, had been employed as a customer services advisor at the large branch.


Prosecutor Ronald Birkett said an investigation was launched in July last year after concerns were raised about a number of duplicate transactions which were traced back to Luke’s unique user ID.

Mr Birkett said Luke was usually working at the disabled persons counter in the branch and was therefore dealing with disabled people and the elderly.

He explained how Luke would get customers to re-enter their PIN details when making a withdrawal and this allowed two payments to be logged onto the system.

“Mrs Luke then drew out an identical amount for herself which she then stole,” said Mr Birkett.


Luke, who had no previous convictions, admitted a total of five charges of theft covering a three-month period and the court heard she had stolen a total of about £4,800.

Her barrister Adam Birkby said she was truly sorry for what she had done.

He said Luke’s financial problems meant she was now planning to go into individual bankruptcy and any compensation order would be difficult to repay in a reasonable period of time.

Judge John Potter told Luke she was not going to go to prison for the offences, but he said she would have to do 250 hours unpaid work as part of a 12-month community order.

The judge said it had been prolonged and systematic dishonesty against victims who had been targeted by Luke because of their vulnerable nature and the amounts of money they had in their accounts.

Judge Potter said Luke had seen the offending as a way of obtaining temporary respite from her financial concerns but she had taken the wrong route.

The court heard that Luke still had significant financial difficulties and Judge Potter indicated that instead of making a compensation order he had increased the amount of unpaid work for the community from 200 to 250 hours.

Post Office Ltd spokesperson Heulyn Gwyn Davies said: “Post Office Ltd has a zero tolerance approach to any dishonesty and this stance is shared by the overwhelming majority of Post Office staff who are honest and hardworking. We will always seek to prosecute the tiny minority of people who abuse their position of trust.”

[Lounge Lizard]

"Her barrister Adam Birkby said she was truly sorry for what she had done." - and that's precisely what they always say.