A TRUSTED employee at a popular York Vets practice, who stole more than £20,500 of customers’ money, has been spared a trip to jail.

For 18 months, Laura Louise Plews, 34, used Minster Vets’ payment system to covertly divert funds that the practice was holding on clients’ behalf into three bank accounts held by her, said Aymer Khokhar, prosecuting.

By the time the practice’s financial boss realised what was going on, she had taken money 83 times, in amounts ranging from £30 to £2,000 each, he told York Crown Court.

Her actions spoiled the practice's reputation and it has to rebuild its customers' confidence and trust, said Mr Khokhar. 

Plews told police she had run up debts and needed money.

She had been at the practice for 10 years and had been promoted to head of section, said Mr Khokhar.

The practice had lost financially because it refunded the stolen money to the clients.

The Crown Prosection Service has started confiscation proceedings against Plews to try and make her repay all the money.

Judge Simon Hickey told Plews her children would suffer if she were jailed and she had shown remorse.

Plews broke out crying in the dock as he said she would not be sent straight to prison.

Instead her 12-month prison sentence was suspended for 18 months on condition she does 100 hours’ unpaid work.

Plews, of The Croft, Sheriff Hutton, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation.

Her solicitor advocate Graham Parkin said that she had tried to set up a repayment arrangement with the practice following her arrest but it had been advised not to accept one until after the court case was concluded.

He did not give any other mitigation after the judge announced that the sentence would be suspended.

Mr Khokhar said Plews carried out the fraud at the Minster Vets’ branches in Salisbury Road off Leeman Road and Willow Grove, New Earswick, between June 2020 and March 2022, when her crimes were discovered.

The practice offered customers the opportunity to make part payments for their pets’ treatment.

The practice would then claim the full amount on the customers’ pet insurance and when they received the full amount, they would refund the customer the part payment.

The money was held in the practice’s accounts on behalf of the customers.

Plews arranged for “refunds” to be paid into her bank account rather than to customers, said the prosecution barrister.

In early 2022, checks by the finance team of the practice management, VetPartners, uncovered Plews’ actions.

She had made 56 “refunds” totalling just over £18,500 to one bank account, the first of which appeared to have been a “genuine error”, said Mr Khokhar. She had then deliberately taken the rest.

She had also made 27 more "refunds" into two other bank accounts.

She had generally used old or dormant customer accounts for the fraudulent transfers, but she had also diverted 25 genuine transfers that should have gone to customers.