Portadown woman Lisa Marie McGuckin jailed for major frauds against employer and local community group

Outlining how Lisa Marie McGuckin used her ill-gotten gains to fund holidays to Dubai and New York, Judge Patrick Lynch KC ordered the 45-year-old fraudster to serve half her sentence in jail and half under licence.

"I do not know whether you have any shame at all but you should hang your head now,” declared the Craigavon Crown Court judge.

Last December McGuckin, from Rose Cottages in Portadown, entered guilty pleas to two counts of fraud by abuse of positions in that between 15 September 2011 and 11 July 2019, she defrauded £203,498 from her employers at Cots and Tots Ltd by transferring the cash out of their account and she defrauded the Drumcree Community Trust by transferring £1,918 from their account to hers.

Opening the facts of the case for the first time on Wednesday, prosecuting counsel Ian Tannahill outlined how McGuckin’s frauds were committed in broadly the same way against the two victim companies.

In relation to Cots and Tots, a company which provided childcare for kids from birth to 12, McGuckin had been working as a financial administrator with control and access to such matters as the pay roll, outgoings and tax matters.

In 2019, a bankruptcy agency contacted the other directors to alert them that McGuckin had been declared bankrupt and “could no longer act as a director,” a matter which came as “something of a surprise too them” because as far as they were concerned, the fraudster was not a director.

That lead to an audit of the accounts and it transpired that McGuckin had made dozens of unauthorised transfers from the account of Cots and Tots straight to her own account.

Mr Tannahill told the court that McGuckin had transferred a total of just under £308,000 but taking into account her wages, the balance brought the fraud down to £203,498.

Turning to offences against Drumcree Community Trust, the barrister said McGuckin had been employed in a similar role but her offences came to light when the Trust “became aware of the allegations at Cots and Tots".

When they checked their own accounts, they uncovered that McGuckin had been doing almost the exact same thing to them.

The fraudster attended voluntarily for police interview and while she admitted her offending, she highlighted there was “huge personal trauma in her family at the time” including that her father had been convicted and jailed for sex offences against multiple victims and her husband had himself come out of prison having developed addictions to drink, drugs and gambling.

Mr Tannahill emphasised however that while McGuckin did admit her guilt there were additional aggravating features including that he defrauded two victims over a protracted period of time and had used the money to fund a lifestyle she could not afford.

Defence counsel Jonathan Browne said McGuckin herself had admitted to police “I did all that I could to keep my family together [but] I’m sorry for the hurt that has been caused.”

While he described her “as effectively a lady of straw” with no way of compensating then victims, Judge Lynch highlighted that “she could afford to take holidays".

During his sentencing remarks, the judge revealed that the head of Cots and Tots had written a victim impact statement where she described how McGuckin had been “treated like family” but her frauds had left everyone connected to the business feeling betrayed.

“She lead us to believe that the business was failing and she mocked me for constantly putting in strategies to save money and not have to close the business while she went to Dubai and New York and other extravagant holidays while we struggled,” quoted Judge Lynch, adding that the statement described McGuckin as “extremely manipulative and willing to do anything possible to try to avoid facing justice.”

The defence had argued that McGuckin’s mental health difficulties, her PTSD and the situation with her husband and her dead father warranted suspending any prison sentence but the judge rejected that and jailed the fraudster.

Following the sentencing, the PSNI said McGuckin had showed a ‘callous disregard’ for those she chose to defraud.

Detective Inspector Foley said: “She took money from her employers, who also offer employment to local people in the area and have suffered greatly due to the financial loss.

"I hope this sentencing sends out a clear message to anyone who thinks they can get away with this type of crime. We will work tirelessly to bring offenders before the courts so that that victims receive the justice they deserve.

“I would ask anyone who believes they are a victim of fraud to contact police on the non-emergency number 101.”