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A mum bought ink cartridges worth more than £180,000 on a company credit card before selling them on eBay for £200 each. Claire Timmins, 34, admitted theft by employee while working as an administration officer for recruitment consultancy company Morson Group. From 2016 to 2024, Timmins bought hundreds of ink cartridges on the Salford-based company's credit card in what prosecutors described as a 'sophisticated' operation. As part of her trusted role, she had access to the company's credit card, Manchester Crown Court heard yesterday, Tuesday, November 4. Her actions came to light in February 2024 when the firm's managing director found an 'abnormally large' amount spent on print cartridges in an overview of overhead costs, reports the Manchester Evening News . Morson Group only required around four cartridges per month, yet the figures showed hundreds more had been bought. Timmins was found to have been making unauthorised purchases following an internal investigation. She would either hide the deliveries in meeting rooms or have them delivered to her home address, prosecutor Samuel Eskdale told the court . Using a different name, Timmins would then advertise the cartridges for sale on eBay and sell them for £200 each. When confronted, she told bosses that she had been committing the thefts since 2019 but investigations revealed her criminality had gone back much further. Her employment has since been terminated. Mr Eskdale said: "In 2016, 130 cartridges had been bought at £10,457. In 2017, 251 had been bought, costing £21,340. In 2018, £12,710. In 2019, £5,645 - though this coincides with the defendant's maternity leave. "In 2020, 194 cartridges were bought at £16,480. In 2021, 295 were bought at £23,868. In 2022, 391 were bought at £34,749. In 2023, 429 were bought at £40, 593. And in 2024, 230 were bought at £24,233." In total the unauthorised payment amounted to £188,665. Timmins admitted the offence in a police interview following her arrest. Prosecutors described the offending as 'sophisticated' as she was able to sell the cartridges on for her own 'criminal enterprise', breaching the high level of trust placed in her. In mitigation, Eleanor Brambell said her client was facing a lengthy term in prison , though asked the court for leniency. She said Timmins was the sole carer of her seven-year-old son, and also cared for her mum who would regularly get placed into 'medically induced comas'. "She has remained remorseful from the outset, and she sincerely apologises to the court and her previous employer," she said. "She found herself in debt, significant debt, at the time. She has also suffered with her own mental health, and a custodial setting is going to be difficult for her." Judge Peter Morgan adjourned the sentencing hearing to allow for prosecutors to establish whether the company seeks compensation, and if they wished to provide a victim impact statement. He also asked defence counsel to provide medical evidence relating to Timmins' mum. Timmins, of Cumberland Avenue, Salford, will be sentenced on January 19 next year. She pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to theft by employee.
