A Lanarkshire family torn apart by a cruel embezzler are fearful the full extent of her deceit is yet to be uncovered.
Crooked bookkeeper Andrea Cochrane worked as a company secretary at East Kilbride-based haulage firm A Steel & Son Contracts for more than 30 years.
She was sentenced to 28 months in jail last month after she admitted embezzling £90,000 between January 2018 and July 2019
That left the business in near-ruin, but the family have now told how they fear that Cochrane's deceit played out in court was just the tip of the iceberg.
After the sentencing the devastated Steel family told us how the business was left "hanging on by the skin of its teeth".
Now Amy Steel, daughter-in-law of business founder Jim, has laid bare the personal damage caused by Cochrane.
She told Lanarkshire Live : "It has like been a death in the family - we were dumbstruck that this happened to us.
"My young son even called her 'auntie'.
"It was all about the betrayal of trust. My father-in-law trusted her unequivocally."
Amy told us how Cochrane, of Bellshill, had full control of the day-to-day running of the business, from wages to invoicing and booking jobs.
"Under no circumstances" did the family think she would steal from them once, never mind over an extended period of time.
Amy added: "She must have known it was wrong.
"It's not just the mental strain, it's been the impact on the family's health. My husband, Campbell, had three heart attacks a few years back and had to have stents put in.
"We knew the business was losing money, but we couldn't figure out how.
"So he basically drove himself into the ground doing a lot of heavy work himself to save money. He almost died, leaving me with a young child.
"Campbell was in coronary care for a week - he was unwell for quite a period of time, so all of our focus was on him."
Amy told how, following Cochrane's sentencing, her father-in-law took a stress-related turn, which has left the family concerned for his wellbeing.
"He's on the mend now," she added, "but of course it's a worry. He's in his 70s and it's definitely taken its tole."
And while Cochrane pleaded guilty to the £90,000 worth of fraud, Amy claims it could be far more.
"On a court hearing on December 8 her defence lawyer said she had admitted to stealing from us for between eight to 10 years - so we are scared to think how much we have actually lost from the business.
"It beggars belief."
Crooked Cochrane was not sacked from her role, she simply failed to return when things began to unravel - it was only then that Amy started to uncover discrepancies in the accounts.
It was her who began to dig into how money was being lost - at one point, no sooner was it coming in, than it was going out again.
When concerns were raised by Amy in 2019, Cochrane said the company were behind in payments, but this "didn't sit well".
It transpired Cochrane had labelled a series of high value transactions as ‘Turner Accountancy,’ but had used the details of her own account to pocket the cash.
Amy went on: "She was a part of the family.
"If it was bad weather, we would send one of our drivers to get her as she didn't like driving in the snow.
"We were more than likely sending someone to get her so she could come and steal from us - that's a difficult one to stomach.
"We even did all we could to support Andrea when she was ill, but now are even questioning if she was telling us the whole truth about that.
"She is a mum and a gran with another grandchild on the way and is now in jail - you have to ask if it was really worth stealing from us.
"We will never trust anyone other than family again - my mother-in-law is just absolutely devastated by it all.."
The Steel's have vowed to continue to battle on to make sure the family business survives.
However, Amy admits they feel "embarrassed" as well as "hurt and angry".
She added: "People must think we're stupid for not seeing it sooner.
"But we are determined to carry on and build back up again slowly but surely - we have to.
"My husband wouldn't allow her to finish the family business - it's sheer grit and determination that has been getting us through what we have been.
"He couldn't cope if he lost the family business that his parents worked so hard for all these years - that would be the ultimate blow when it wasn't his doing."
**Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
And did yo u know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head over to our page to give us a like and share.
