A payroll administrator who stole over €870,000 from Virgin Media Television over a period of ten years has been jailed for two years.
Kellie Walton, 40, of Kilfenora Road, Kimmage, in Dublin, pleaded guilty to stealing €70,614 at Virgin Media Television, Westgate Business Park, Ballymount, on an unknown date in 2019.
She also pleaded guilty to theft of €34,961 from Virgin Media at the same address, also on an unknown date in 2009 and to one charge of false accounting between 2009 and 2019.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Walton worked as a payroll administrator with the company since 2006 and began stealing the money in 2009. The largest amount stolen any year was over €120,000 with a total amount of €872,437 taken.
At a previous sentencing hearing in December, Judge Melanie Greally said she needed time to consider the contents of various reports, letters and testimonials handed in behalf of Walton.
Passing sentence today, Judge Greally said as a payroll administrator, Walton had a position of "very considerable responsibility" and had almost exclusive access to the payroll system.
Judge Greally said the offending was stated to have been motivated by Walton's husband lacking employment at its commencement, but noted the situation resolved after two years and Walton continued to steal using the names of former employees.
The judge said in this case there was "a degree of deception and sophistication" that Walton managed to conceal her activities for such a long period of time.
Judge Greally said the appropriate sentence for the offending was a term of four years imprisonment.
She said that in view of the fact that she was "acutely aware" that the punishment is going to be "severely punitive" to Walton's young children, she would suspended the final two years of the four year sentence on strict conditions.
Walton's barrister told the court that her client did not use the money to fund a lavish lifestyle or buy high end cars or designer clothes but rather used it to "soften the edges of family life".
Fiona Murphy SC said her client began stealing at a time when her partner could not work due to ill health and the family were under "financial stress", but it then became something that "got out of control".
The court heard that in order to steal the money, Walton would make unauthorised payments to casual staff in the name of people who previously worked there and falsified the relevant documentation to support the payment.
She would then transfer the amount to one of two bank accounts and later either withdraw the money as cash or transfer the funds to her own bank account.
A garda investigation was launched after Virgin Media conducted its own internal investigation. It was noted that €90,000 had been stolen from the company bank account and transferred to an unauthorised bank account.
Walton was identified as a suspect as she was the only person who had the access and authority to carry out such transactions.
She was on holiday when the discovery was made but agreed to take part in a web chat with her employer during which she took responsibility for taking the cash, expressed remorse and said she would make admissions later.
The subsequent garda investigation found that Walton had been stealing money over an extended period of time. She had €2,000 remaining in her own bank account which was later frozen.
Ms Murphy described her client as "the glue that holds the family together" and said she is willing to engage with any processes the court deems fit. A probation report concluded that Walton was at a low risk of re-offending.
She has no previous convictions and has not come to garda attention since.
