Pregnant accountant who gave birth in jail after £415,000 Chesterfield firm theft to repay £49,000

Lynnette Alptekin, 40, was told by a judge she must repay £49,115 - the most money available to her following the four-year fraud.

Alptekin pillaged Carlton Technologies' bank balance for four years - spending the money on a house, a car and trips to Turkey.

During a hearing at Derby Crown Court Judge Jonathan Bennett told Alptekin she had three months to pay, adding “some of that relates to equity on a property you own”.

He said: “There will be a period of two years imprisonment in default if that sum is not paid.”

Dawn Pritchard, prosecuting, told the judge how Alptekin - who appeared via video link from HMP Askham Grange, had “recently had a baby” while in custody.

She said Alptekin’s “benefit amount” from the long-running con was £415,618 and her “available amount” was £49,115.

When the defendant - 31 weeks pregnant at the time - was jailed in April her defence counsel pleaded with Recorder Justin Wigoder to suspend her jail term in light of her pregnancy.

However the judge told her: “I’m afraid I’ve come to the conclusion that the only appropriate sentence is one of immediate imprisonment.

“I do that with a heavy heart in light of your condition.”

Carlton Technologies director Max Crompton told Derby Crown Court how he took out a £250,000 loan against his own home and made a member of staff redundant to cover the losses caused by Alptekin.

Aaron Dinnes, prosecuting, described how the defendant set up 10 different bank accounts - naming them as suppliers the company used so the payments would not seem out of place.

Mr Dinnes said: “Payments were made across 10 different accounts belonging to the defendant - the total amount stolen was £362,103.

“Payments were made in various amounts ranging from various amounts ranging from £60 to over £3,000.”

Alptekin’s crimes were not discovered until almost a year after she left the firm - when a finance officer tried to pay a supplier and they never received the payment - which went to one of the defendant’s accounts.

Between 2015 and 2019 she stole 246 times from the firm.

Max Crompton, director of Carlton Technologies read out a statement to the court in which he said: “I cannot put into words the effect this fraud has had on my family and business.”

The court heard the firm's credit rating and reputation with suppliers was now “destroyed” as a result of Alptekin’s fraud and the extra borrowing it had to resort to survive.

Alptekin, of Osmaston Road, Derby, admitted fraud by abuse of position.

Recorder Wigoder told her: “You realised it was easy to steal from them and began with small amounts which grew larger and larger. This was sophisticated offending in a number of ways.”

A message from Phil Bramley, Derbyshire Times Editor: Support your Derbyshire Times by becoming a digital subscriber. You will see 70 per cent fewer ads on stories, meaning faster load times and an overall enhanced user experience. Click here to subscribe