The owner was left with considerable financial problems and had to remortgage his home
Gemma Phoenix plundered more than £671,000(Image: Hull Live)
A cruel and devious woman shamelessly “betrayed” the trust and friendship of a taxi company boss –and plundered more than £671,000 from his company – in a shocking breach of trust that left him “devastated”. Gemma Phoenix callously plundered the company’s money to pay for her growing cocaine and gambling addictions – and the unsuspecting owner later said: “I felt like my stomach had been ripped out.”
He was plunged into “huge” financial problems because of the fraud and he had to remortgage his home and take out a £100,000 loan, Hull Crown Court heard. Phoenix, 44, of Hayton Avenue, Pocklington, admitted fraud, by abusing her position as a director of Hull Cars Ltd, between March 2023 and August 27, 2024.
Frances Pencheon, prosecuting, said that Phoenix was employed by the taxi company as a bookkeeper and she was also appointed as a director of the company. The owner had worked with her for a considerable period of time before that.
He employed 12 members of staff but the 300 taxi drivers were self-employed. Phoenix managed the business account and was responsible for pensions, National Insurance and tax payments.
He was told by staff in March 2024 that pension contributions did not seem to have been paid. Phoenix lied about the reason but the boss initially believed her.
In August 2024, the owner became concerned and investigated. He found that no contributions had been made to any of the pension schemes for the 12 staff members for more than a year.
He contacted a bank and found that payments had been made not to a holding account but directly to Phoenix’s bank account. He confronted Phoenix and she admitted taking the money.
The total money taken was £671,666 but Phoenix returned about £19,000, leaving an actual loss of about £652,666. The scam was about £43,000 a month, with an average of about £10,000 a week, the court heard.
Transaction entries were given legitimate names on the company payment details by Phoenix so that they did not attract suspicion. The money was initially used by her for child maintenance but also for cocaine and gambling.
The taxi company owner put himself in “huge” financial difficulty and he had to remortgage his house and borrow £100,000 to help his staff and put things right with HMRC. He had to go back to work full-time.
The company owner, 63, said: “It was a successful, profitable business.” He had known Phoenix for many years and it was a “no brainer” to offer her a directorship.
“At this point, I trusted her without question,” he said. “She assured me my business would be in safe hands and I would have nothing to worry about.”
Over time, he could not understand why he had no money in the bank. Phoenix gave him many different reasons and he reluctantly accepted them.
“When I discovered what Gemma had done, I felt like my stomach had been ripped out,” said the owner. “I felt absolutely betrayed and taken advantage of.
“I think she had worked for me for about 10 years. I looked on her as a friend, not just an employee. I had so much trust in her.”
Phoenix had abused not only his trust but his friendship with her. “I felt betrayed, so absolutely betrayed, that a person I cared for and trusted could do this,” he said.
“When her offending came to light, I was left with huge debts.” The owner made the difficult decision to sell the business and this was completed in September last year.
He sold it for only half of what it would have been worth before the fraud. “It’s devastating to no longer have the business that I worked so hard to build,” he said. “I don’t have any business at all now.”
David Godfrey, mitigating, said that it was an “awful breach of trust” by Phoenix and she realised the harm that she had caused to her employer, who was also a friend. She had serious cocaine and gambling addictions at the time.
“It’s a spiral that she was within,” said Mr Godfrey. “She feels really deep shame now that she has the clarity of mind to realise the effect it has had on all sorts of different people.
“She knows she needs to be punished and needs to start her life again. She has not tried to hide behind any curtain or make any excuses.
“She is so very, very sorry for what she did.” Phoenix had said in a letter: “Please know I am so very, very sorry.”
She had no previous convictions. Phoenix, who had been on bail, was jailed for four years.
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