THOMAS COOK EMPLOYEE GETS JAIL TERM

Posted on 08/18/2016

Angelika Schell, 54, sobbed as she taken from a UK courtroom after being sentenced to five years in prison. Schell was convicted of stealing tens of thousands of pounds from her employer Thomas Cook over a period of two years.

Schell, a business assistant was given a company credit card while working at Thomas Cook's London headquarters and racked up £30,957 ($52,210) on shopping sprees and trips to the hairdresser, £3,363 ($5,672) on taxis, more than £2,000 ($3373) on a colleague's credit card, and £833 ($1,405) on flights to Germany.
She was also convicted of stealing £26,000 ($43, 850) from her previous employer Brook Henderson Group, where she was PA to the chief executive - a fact she managed to hide from Thomas Cook when she was employed by them.
She had received a susended sentence for that offence.
Not as fortunate this time, Schell was sentenced to three years and three months for the Thomas Cook fraud and an extra 18 months for breaching her suspended sentence for the previous offence.
Prosecutor Claire Harden-Frost told the court Schell also sent a threatening email to the colleague whose credit card she had used, demanding that he withdraw his support for the prosecution.
Schell pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position.
Her lawyer said Schell had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the past and has recently found a lump believed to be another malignant tumour.