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The £500k conwoman at Claridge's
Georgina Littlejohn11 Sep 2008
A woman who stole half a million pounds from three employers blew it on expensive cars, designer clothes - and Peter Beardsley.
Personal assistant Katie McNeill hired the former England footballer as a birthday surprise for a relative, although he thought he was attending a corporate event.
McNeill, 36, from Newcastle, also had an account at Harrods for designer clothes, stayed at Claridge's during fake business trips to London and spent £2,220 on a helicopter to fly her from her Newcastle home to a Harrogate spa.
McNeill, who was yesterday jailed for three years at Newcastle Crown Court for theft and fraud, began stealing from her bosses in 2002 when she conned a firm in Essex, where she worked as a PA, out of £12,000. She then moved to Eshott
Hall Estate in Northumberland, where she swiped another £31,000 from the hospitality business before joining Tynesidebased security firm Team Savant and conning it out of £166,000.
She used company accounts to pay the £1,500 rent on her townhouse and the leases on a Saab and Land Rover Freelander and spent £1,000 a month on a chauffeur. McNeill was found out last year when
Eshott Hall investigated her dealings.
Reader views (2)
Wow, that is some deterrent for others; 3yrs (probably out in 12-18 months).
- Scott, London, 12/09/2008 09:37
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Who does this woman think she is? An MP?
- Lezli Taubler, London/UK, 11/09/2008 22:57
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