Anne-Marie Dinsdale given 30-month prison sentence

Anne-Marie Dinsdale set up fake invoices at the company where she worked and over a four-year-period fraudulently channelled £258,522.58 into a bank account in her unsuspecting husband’s name.

A judge at Bradford Crown Court said Dinsdale did not seem to know where the money had gone “but spent it was, or most of it at least”.

The court heard that staff at Avocet Dye & Chemical Company Ltd, based on Birds Royd Lane in Brighouse, described Dinsdale’s actions as “a stab in the back” causing “upset, anger, hurt, stress and exhaustion” as well as significant cost to the business.

Dinsdale’s crimes were described as “a violation of trust”.

Prosecutor Abigail Langford said Dinsdale, 57, of Priestley Grove, Taylor Hill, Huddersfield, was employed as an accountant with Avocet from 2010 with part of her job having responsibility for ordering stationery.

Between October 2017 and December 2021, Dinsdale created fake invoices in the name of a company called ACS Supplies purporting to supply stationery being purchased by Avocet.

But money was being paid into a Lloyds Bank account in the name of her husband.

Miss Langford said: “The offences came to light in December of 2021 [via] in an email exchange in which the deception was effectively uncovered, as [ACS Supplies] was discovered to be a company that didn’t exist.”

The matter was referred to the police. Dinsdale was arrested and interviewed in which she admitted the act of fraud but disputed the amount.

Dinsdale (Image: West Yorkshire Police) Miss Langford said: “She was at pains to make clear that her husband was not involved in the offences, and she offered to repay the monies in instalments.”

The court heard that whilst £58,000 had been allocated for repayment some cash had not been released as a bank account had been frozen.

Dinsdale later pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation, and to seeking to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer or remove criminal property. Both charges related to the missing £258,000.

The court heard that Dinsdale had a previous conviction for theft from an employer and had been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and handed a confiscation order for more than £39,000.

Mitigating, Mollie Briggs said Dinsdale, who suffered from poor mental health, has taken full responsibility for her actions and was “deeply ashamed” of what she had done.

She said Dinsdale had a long-standing severe mental health diagnosis including unspecified personality disorder, major depressive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. She was also said to present as someone having an extremely fragile personality.

She said Dinsdale had attempted suicide following her suspension in 2021 and had been sectioned for three months.

She said: “It is likely that her poor mental health was a precursor to the offences.

“What can be deduced from Miss Dinsdale’s psychological profile is that it was unlikely that this was a direct attempt at the time to defraud. It appears more likely she was creating an alternative world for herself.”

A pre-sentence report also described Dinsdale as “self-pitying and pessimistic” and that she viewed herself as a victim.

Sentencing Dinsdale, Mr Recorder Anthony Kelbrick said her professional skill and understanding of accounts had enabled her to carry out the fraud and to take advantage of her employer.

Avocet Dye & Chemical, Brighouse (Image: Google Street View) He said: “Where that money went you do not seem to know, but spent it was – or most of it, at least. You therefore gained significantly by your criminal acts.

“It is probable that there is some connection between your mental illness diagnoses and the offending. It seems that that has been long-standing [and] that it was there affecting you at the time of the earlier offending.

“This is not a spontaneous offence given the length of time over which the offending occurred and the relatively sophisticated methodology of it.

“I come to the conclusion … that the diagnoses, relatively serious though they may well be, were not the cause of you committing the offences.”

He said Dinsdale would serve more than half of her 30-month sentence and then be released on licence.

He set a Proceeds of Crime confiscation hearing to take place on January 20 next year.

A spokesperson for Avocet said: “We are very pleased with the outcome of the case. It feels that justice has been served in this situation. She had been made accountable for her actions.

“Avocet can now put closure to this painful and traumatic chapter and continue to recover in our business.”

The company offered its thanks to the police for their investigation.