A payroll manager who defrauded her firm out of almost £150,000 and even claimed she and her boss were involved in a tax scam has been jailed for four years.

Catherine Mitchell diverted payments into her own bank account and that of her mother for almost three years, spending £25,000 on dental implant treatment and £11,000 on a new car.

It was only when Strood-based Romatech (NI) Ltd planned to expand and employ more staff that her deceit came to light.

Mitchell, 54, handed in her resignation during an investigation but later denied when being interviewed by police that she had done anything wrong.

Maidstone Crown Court heard she also falsely claimed when interviewed by police that she and managing director Peter Fowler Snr were fiddling the taxman.

“She seemed to argue she had some moral entitlement to the money for having worked very hard,” said prosecutor Antony Hook.

“She also claimed that she and Mr Fowler Snr were in it together to defraud the revenue. There was no truth in that and was very distressing for Mr Fowler.”

Mitchell, of Parkfield Road, Rainham, admitted fraud by abuse of position on the day her trial was due to start last month and sentencing was adjourned.

The court heard Mitchell paid herself £149,728 between January 2011 and November 2013. None of the money has been repaid despite promises by Mitchell at the time of her arrest to do so.

As well as the dentistry work and car, Mitchell told a probation officer she paid off her daughter’s £2,000 debts and went on a two-week holiday to Egypt.

But Judge Jeremy Carey said her revelations as to her expenditure only “scratched the surface” and queried where the rest of the money had gone.

Passing sentence, he also told Mitchell she had acted out of greed.

“It was a gross breach of trust. The managing director Peter Fowler considered you to be a friend and had total trust in your honesty and ability,” he said.

“You compounded your bad position by, having seemingly faced up to your part, you then not only reneged upon that but you sought to implicate him as a co-criminal in the fraudulent activity.

“When he discovered that he was truly appalled that you could stoop so low.”

Remarking that there was very little that could be said on her behalf, Judge Carey added: “It was about as unattractive a case as one can imagine.”

The court heard Romatech, which is on the Medway City Estate, supplies skilled, temporary staff to other companies.

Mitchell’s role involved her paying staff who had effectively been loaned out, said Mr Hook.

But the court heard she also made payments to herself, attaching the names of other employees to them to disguise her wrongdoing.

It was Mr Fowler's son, Peter Fowler Jnr, who, employed in 2013 to help with the firm's expansion, detected the fraud.

“Payments for the same members of staff were going into the same destination bank account and it was receiving huge amounts,” added the prosecutor.

The court heard that Mitchell’s deceit had caused not only financial and sales losses amounting to a further £207,000, but also stress and anxiety to Mr Fowler Snr and staff.

At the start of the hearing the judge was told that Mr Fowler was too distressed to attend court, and his victim impact statement spoke of how he had found himself very distrusting of people.

“He had known Catherine Mitchell for some time and trusted her,” said Mr Hook.

“He feels very foolish and very bad because the way the offence was committed was very malicious and she tried to get him into trouble.

“He said his staff were traumatised at the thought of having to come to court to give evidence.”

“The victim in this case counted Mitchell as a friend and she betrayed the trust he placed in her" - officer Nichole Carter

Mary Jacobson, defending, said Mitchell was “acutely aware” of the effect her offending had had and was not “shying away” from what she did.

She also told the court Mitchell, who suffers from depression, was sole carer for her vulnerable and elderly mother, who had no knowledge of her daughter’s court appearance.

A confiscation hearing will be held at a later date.

After sentencing, investigating officer Nichole Carter said: “The victim in this case counted Mitchell as a friend and she betrayed the trust he placed in her.

“I am very pleased with the sentence imposed on her, which reflects the seriousness of her actions and sends a clear message to anyone else planning to abuse their position for financial gain.”