Company secretary, 45, is jailed for five years for stealing £1.7million from her employer

A company secretary with a horse-buying habit she found ‘more addictive than drugs’ has been jailed for stealing £1.7million from her employer.

Lisa Crawshaw, 45, from Gainsborough, ‘destroyed’ the business when she took cash to buy several expensive horses and equestrian equipment over a five-year period.

The business – understood to be trucking firm C&C Transport – discovered the theft when it began receiving debt collection letters following the sale of the company. 

Crawshaw, who is listed as secretary of the Scunthorpe-based business, was jailed for five years after admitting fraud at Grimsby Crown Court last week.   

DS Ben Robinson from Humberside Police’s Economic Crime Unit said: ‘Fraud can be an extremely distressing offence to become a victim of, especially when the level of offending is of the magnitude in this case.

‘It is clear that Lisa Crawshaw had no regard for her employers and instead defrauded them to fund her own luxuries.

‘With a habit of buying horses “more addictive than drugs”, as said in her own words, Miss Crawshaw not only destroyed a successful North Lincolnshire business, she also destroyed the owners’ years of dedication and future financial security.

‘Investigators from our asset recovery team continue to make enquiries into any assets that have been gained as a result of Lisa Crawshaw’s criminality.

‘She will now have the next few years in prison to reflect on her actions, and I do hope this goes some way to bringing the victims a sense of closure.

‘We are committed to tackling fraud of any scale, and would encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim of fraud to report it through Action Fraud.’

Crawshaw was jailed for five years at Grimsby Crown Court on Friday.