By Jason Evans

Copyright walesonline

A trusted employee at a family-run hotel stole almost £155,000 from the business, pushing the firm to the edge of bankruptcy, a court has heard. Ivo Lima effectively took over the running of the hotel when the owner became seriously ill but systematically stole money from the business and diverted customer payments directly into his own bank account over a period of years. Swansea Crown Court heard Lima was regarded more as a member of the family rather than an employee and he exploited that situation to “milk” the hotel in order to live a lifestyle above his salary. Caitlyn Jones, prosecuting, told the court Lima was working as general manager at the Spilman Hotel in Carmarthen town centre when a serious deterioration in the owner’s health meant he assumed additional responsibilities and effectively took over the running of the establishment. The court heard in January 2024 questions began to be asked when it was realised the number of bookings the hotel was taking was not reflected in its income. The family who own the hotel turned to Lima and he said the difference was due to rising costs and bills. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter The court heard when attempts were made to look at the hotel’s payments and banking systems it was found Lima had changed the passwords so nobody else could get access. When family members eventually got into the systems they found money from the hotel’s Stripe customer payments account and Barclays Merchant account had been transferred directly into the defendant’s personal bank account and emails relating to the transactions had been deleted. The prosecutor said in total between February 2021 and July 2024 Lima stole £154,591 from the hotel. When challenged the defendant admitted what he had done and paid back £1,500. He told the family he had spent the money on a car and electrical items. The matter was referred to the police and in his subsequent interview the 39-year-old defendant answered “no comment” to all questions asked. Read about the manager of a busy doctors’ surgery who systematically stole more than £320,000 from the business . In an impact statement read to the court by the prosecutor the family said they had run the Spilman since 1972 and had worked very hard to make it a success. The statement said Lima had always been treated “as a member of the family not just an employee” and he had repaid their trust by taking money and nearly bankrupting the business. The statement added it was particularity upsetting that Lima had carried out the theft knowing the family was dealing with a serious health issue. Ivo Ricardo Rodrigues Lima, of Brewery Road, Carmarthen, had previously pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions. Dyfed Thomas, for Lima, what the defendant had effectively done was to double his £35,000-a-year salary by transferring hotel monies to his own bank account. He said said it was not a case where there was a gambling debt or misuse of drugs or alcohol and said the money had simply been spent on clothes, electrical items, and other general family expenditures. The barrister said his client was a man of previously good character who had worked hard all his life and he described what happened as a “spectacular fall from grace”. He said Lima wished to apologise to the family who ran the hotel though the barrister acknowledged such as apology would likely bring little comfort. Judge Geraint Walters said Lima had been a trusted employee who had “grossly abused” that trust to “milk” the hotel of money. He said it was still not clear to him exactly what the defendant had spent the £155,000 on but said it seemed Lima had been “living a grander life that your salary provided for at the expense of your employer”. He noted that £155,000 was a significant amount of money for a family-run business. The judge said even if the sentence which was due had been one that was capable of being suspended – that is a sentence of two years or under – he would have declined to suspend it as the case was so serious only immediate custody was appropriate. With a one-third discount for his guilty plea Lima was sentenced to 30 months in prison. He will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice .