Travel agent stole £1,400 holiday cash
A former travel agent stole more than £1,400 that had been paid by a customer for a trip to Las Vegas.
Dawn Willis, aged 41, was working as the manager of the Co-operative Travel in Cradley Heath High Street when £1,410, which had been paid by the customer, went missing. Willis was sacked but denied that she had pocketed the money, claiming it had been lost.
But yesterday Willis, of Broomhill Road, Erdington, Birmingham, was found guilty at Warley Magistrates Court of stealing the holiday money.
She was ordered to pay back the full amount to Co-operative Travel and £250 court costs.
She was also given a two year supervision order.
Ms Clare Davis, prosecuting, said the cash was some of the money paid by a group of 10 people for a holiday to Las Vegas.
Ms Davis told the court: "She admitted that she had taken receipt of the money but said it must have been lost or stolen from her possession.
"She had taken possession of the money in a pub.
"She had put the money in her handbag, gone home, put the handbag in a cupboard.
"Then she had a day off work and when she went back to pay it in she found it was gone."
Ms Davis said that Wills had started paying back the money of her own accord, but pretended that the payments were being made by the people who had booked the original trip.
Mr John Alchin, defending, said: "Ms Willis already owes significant amount of money to many and varied institutions.
"The offence has perhaps been committed as a result of the difficult financial situation that she found herself in."
Sentencing Willis, magistrate Henry Abrams said: "This is a very serious offence for which you have been found guilty.
"You breached the trust of your workplace."
