Credit boss abused her job to steal £12,000

Beverley Johnson, previously known as Beverley Farmer, admitted a string of offences which involved moving money from accounts held by members of Leeds City Credit Union to accounts held by members of Johnson’s family before being ultimately withdrawn as cash.

Johnson, of Tingley, near Wakefield, also moved money between customer accounts in a bid to hide the losses.

She pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court to 16 charges relating to fraud by abuse of her position at Leeds City Credit Union (LCCU), which has 27,000 members. The prosecution accepted three other charges should be left on file after Johnson, 51, entered not guilty pleas.

Initially, Johnson was charged with fraudulently obtaining £18,500 between 2006 and 2009 but the amount was cut to £12,000 in line with the specific charges she had pleaded guilty to. The case was adjourned to September 25 when Johnson is due to be sentenced.

The Yorkshire Post first revealed Johnson had been sacked for allegations of irregular money transfers in one of a series of exposes highlighting mismanagement at LCCU. She was subsequently arrested in December 2010.

After her dismissal in 2009, she went on to obtain two further jobs at credit unions in Yorkshire, latterly at Calderdale Credit Union which has confirmed she is no longer employed there. LCCU has also previously confirmed no members lost money as a result of the thefts.