Businesswoman steals £128k to fund affair with her personal trainer
Cheating businesswoman stole £128,000 from estate agents to fund affair with her personal trainer under the nose of her business partner husband
- Joanne Barker, 46, fleeced rental payments earmarked for property landlords
- She used money to pay rent for her illicit lover and buy a central heating system
A cheating businesswoman stole more than £128,000 from an estate agents to fund an affair with her personal trainer – right under the nose of her business partner husband.
Lettings boss Joanne Barker, 46, fleeced rental payments earmarked for property landlords after she began a secret fling with Andrew Taylor, despite being married to and working with her husband Paul.
Throughout the course of 2014 to 2018, the mother-of-one also went behind the backs of Ian and Jo-Anne Tweedley, the couple’s best friends and fellow directors of the agency Barton Kendall, based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
Mrs Barker was finally unmasked as a thief when various landlords, who had assigned the agency to collect money from tenants, complained about not getting their pay.
Investigations later revealed how Mrs Barker diverted money from the firm’s client account into her own personal bank account – which she used to make rental payments to a fictitious landlord and pay for a £3,640 central heating system at her £400,000 marital home, Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Joanna Barker outside Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court after she was handed a suspended sentence for fraud by false representation
Throughout the course of 2014 to 2018, Mrs Barker went behind the backs of Ian and Jo-Anne Tweedley (right), fellow directors of the agency Barton Kendall
The lettings boss fleeced rental payments earmarked for property landlords after she began a secret fling with Andrew Taylor, despite being married to husband Paul (pictured)
She also used her lover’s bank account to deposit £8,586 worth of stolen cash and allowed him to live rent-free for six months in one of the firm’s properties.
Neither Mrs Barker’s husband or her secret lover were aware of any wrongdoing.
In a statement Mr Tweedley, 57, who is managing director at Barton Kendall with his 52-year old wife said: ‘Jo and I worked tirelessly to build up and maintain the business in really difficult times and we became one of the leading lettings agencies in the area with a longstanding reputation.
‘I thought life was rosy, I thought we were financially secure albeit not rich, the mortgage was nearly paid off and I was gearing up to retire at 60. When we took on Joanne, she became a trusted family friend and I felt assured she would run the business in my absence.
‘But all that came crashing down when I found out she was siphoning off clients’ money from the business and stealing all the tenants deposits. That day was the worst of my life. I was in the office at 3am as I couldn’t sleep and my heart sunk as I realised my business was in tatters.
‘That same morning my sister rang me to say my nephew had been involved a in tragic accident and lost his life. I was numb, I hit rock bottom and we were truly at a horrendous point in our lives.
‘What followed was two years of stress, panic and exhaustion to the point of nearly having a breakdown. I was determined to save the business but with such limited funds I was very concerned we might have to fold the company as I didn’t see a way out.
‘I realised this would have an impact on our staff who had been conned and our many landlords who have been our clients for many years. I felt humiliated and embarrassed. The thought of ending of my life did not occur to me but I was as low and desperate as I have ever been.
‘Jo and I ploughed all our savings into the business. I sold my beloved car to pay off the landlords and obtained a £50,000 business loan to pay off contractors. It was almost catastrophic.
‘We lost some big landlords, over 50 managed properties, over £50,000 a year. Our insurance premiums went up from £1,600 a year to £20,000. Our standing as one of the leading estate agents in the town has dropped and our reputation has been severely tarnished.’
The thefts occurred shortly after the Tweedleys (left), who acquired Barton Kendall in 2008, took on the Barkers (right) as equal shareholders in 2015
Mrs Barker used her lover’s bank account to deposit £8,586 worth of stolen cash and allowed him to live rent-free for six months in one of the firm’s properties (Mr and Mrs Barker pictured)
At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Mrs Barker who pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation insisted she had only stolen £28,868 but forensic accountants said the total amount missing from the firm was £128,868.
She was sentenced to two years jail suspended for two years after claiming she was now living off state benefits in a flat in Salford and was needed to care for her elderly mother.
It is believed she has split up with 50-year old Mr Barker. The court heard the Tweedleys had been able to recompense all the landlords and other victims affected via their insurers.
The thefts occurred shortly after the Tweedleys, who acquired Barton Kendall in 2008, took on the Barkers as equal shareholders in 2015. Mrs Barker had initially been the lettings agency manageress at the Rochdale branch whilst her husband was a manager at Middleton.
Mr Patrick Williamson prosecuting said: ‘In 2018 a number of landlords began to complain they were not receiving rent payments which were due to them in line with their letting agreement. It seemed they were only paid by the defendant if they persisted with their inquiries about the missing money.
‘The Tweedleys later discovered significant sums of money were missing from their bank accounts to the extent Mrs Tweedley feared the firm was in real danger of bankruptcy. Initially they approached a family friend, a retired detective to look into the matter before being advised to report it to police.
‘Meanwhile the defendant resigned in November 2018 at the time the losses were being discovered and at this time her affair with Andrew Taylor also came to light. During a review Mr and Mrs Tweedley noticed company cheques being made out to the defendant and her husband – all in her handwriting.
‘The recipient account was that of the defendant but not her husband whose account showed no such deposits.
‘A £3,640 central heating system was installed at the defendant’s home in 2017 as part of a number of improvements. This was paid for out of the Barton Kendall client account by the defendant without the knowledge of Mr Barker or the Tweedleys.
‘A false invoice was later found stating work had been carried out a the Middleton office which in fact does not have a central hearing system fitted.
‘She also engaged in false representing that works were being carried out at landlords’ properties. One landlord handed over £1800 cash on the basis contractors had been instructed to carry out work at his property but none was in fact instructed. When the landlord asked about progress she said work was ongoing and gave the impression it was almost complete. In fact no work ever started.
At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Mrs Barker who pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation insisted she had only stolen £28,868 but forensic accountants said the total amount missing from the firm was £128,868
In mitigation defence counsel Richard Dawson said Mrs Barker was a full time carer for her elderly mother who would have to move into a nursing home if his client was locked up
‘She also allowed Andrew Taylor her personal trainer to use a Barton Kendal rental property between October 2017 and February 2018. There was no record of him paying any rent whilst Barton Kendall itself paid the landlord.
‘It appears she falsely informed Mr Taylor she owned the property and that he need not pay rent. She also made transfers from the client account to accounts held by the defendant and Mr Taylor.
‘One other landlord complained she was not receiving all her rental payments but the defendant said she was behind in carrying out transactions because – among other excuses – she was suffering from cancer.
‘When it was looked into, a number of payments purporting to go into the landlord’s account went to the defendant instead. Also a number of payments purporting to go a landlord called Taylor went into the account of Andrew Taylor. At no stage was Andrew Taylor registered as a landlord with Barton Kendall. The Tweedleys have had to inject personal capital to keep the business afloat.’
When interviewed by police Barker denied theft claiming she was owed all the money she pocketed. The court heard several landlords had since taken their business to other letting agencies.
In mitigation defence counsel Richard Dawson said Mrs Barker was a full time carer for her elderly mother who would have to move into a nursing home if his client was locked up.
‘She stole relatively insubstantial sums of the money but it then added up,’ he added. ‘She wishes to apologise for the impact her actions have had on others.’
Sentencing Judge Angela Nield told Barker to complete 180 hours unpaid work, 30 days rehabilitation activity days, abide by a two month 7pm-7am curfew and face a Proceeds of Crime hearing.
She said: ‘This was a company set up by your friends who had built up a good reputation over the years for efficiency and honesty. You became part and parcel of that company and were quite clearly trusted to the highest level.
‘You have offered an explanation about the difficult financial circumstances in which you found yourself coupled with problems in your marriage, exacerbated by an affair you had with an individual who then became implicated indirectly in your fraudulent behaviour.
‘But there is no excuse for this systematic theft and stripping of assets and what you did represented a significant breach of trust. You not only brought the company to the brink of possible bankruptcy but betrayed individuals who trusted you to run that business as your own.
‘Mr and Mrs Tweedley have not only lost significant sums of money, have been forced to reconsider their whole lifestyle and plans for a early and happy retirement.’
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