The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

AN ACCOUNTS manager accused of stealing nearly $200,000 from her place of employment was yesterday granted $9,900 bail ahead of her trial.

Tabitha Wells, 39, was accused of defrauding John Watling’s Distillery of $198,112.35 between February and August of this year.

Yesterday, she appeared before Magistrate Ambrose Armbrister charged with 12 counts of stealing by reason of employment, two counts of falsification of accounts and a single charge of acquiring the proceeds of crime.

It is alleged Wells stole the funds from the company’s Royal Bank of Canada and Commonwealth Bank corporate accounts.

The prosecution said the defendant stole $57,185.07 from the distillery’s RBC account sometime between February 4 and 29. They also said she stole $10,090.40 from the company’s Commonwealth Bank account between May 10 and 27. Wells was further accused of making false entries into the distillery’s accounting software on two different occasions.

She denied the allegations and the matter was adjourned to April 13.

Wells was granted $9,900 bail.

• In a separate case, a woman who denied defrauding a wholesale company of thousands of dollars was yesterday granted bail.

Felicia Wilmott appeared before Magistrate Ambrose Armbrister accused of defrauding Discount Distributors Limited of over $17,000 worth of goods between September and October this year.

The prosecution alleged the 30-year-old unlawfully obtained $2,628.39 from the establishment sometime between August 15 and 30.

The Crown further alleged she defrauded the company of $5,385.13 sometime between September 2 and 14 and said she stole another $8,097.11 sometime between September 15 and 30.

Yesterday, Wilmott was also accused of illegally obtaining $1,429.06 from Discount Distributors between October 1 and 5.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to four counts of fraud by false pretences and the matter was adjourned to April 14 next year for trial. She was granted $5,000 bail.