A finance boss who took £90,000 from a cancer charity and spent it on shopping and foreign holidays has been ordered to pay back just £1.
Paula Tribbeck, 48, a former financial coordinator at Wessex Cancer Trust, siphoned off the cash to fund her luxury lifestyle while the charity launched public fundraisers in a desperate bid to survive, a court heard.
The trust, set up in aid of people living with cancer and their families, faced possible closure and at one stage needed to raise £600,000 to save the organisation.
But 48-year-old's crime was finally uncovered in 2019 when her colleagues broke into her desk, where they found a cache of key fobs used to access bank accounts and petty cash.
Tribbeck was jailed for two years this week at Southampton Crown Court in Hampshire. A judge has now ordered her to repay £1 within the next seven days.
Judge Christopher Parker told Tribbeck, who was appearing via remote link from East Sutton Park prison: "Unless you win the lottery, it seems unlikely you will be able to repay it."
Defending, Chris Gaiger told Southampton Crown Court that Tribbeck had no money left to pay back after spending it all.
He said: "She has got nothing. There are no available funds.
"It was spent as fast as it came in on things like holidays."
The sentencing hearing was told Tribbeck joined the charity as a teenager before rising to the position of financial coordinator in 2010, and was responsible for logging all financial transactions.
Her step-father died in 2019 and she took time off work, the court heard.
Suspicions had been raised when accounts belonging to the charity which were supposed to have been closed were found to be still active, after they received letters demanding payment for overdue invoices.
Tribbeck then gave 'evasive answers' when colleagues quizzed her about the missing key fobs, which are used to track financial assets.
The court was told £93,800 was transferred from the charity to her personal account over the course of six years, with only £2,300 of that ever paid back.
Tribbeck stole the money in multiple payments ranging from £100 to £4,000 by logging invoices as being paid before sending the money to herself, the court heard.
Police searched her home after receiving a report and found bank statements hidden in her wardrobe.
The court heard Tribbeck, of Southampton, was 'visibly shocked' when police told her how much money she had taken and claimed her fraud had 'become an addiction'.
As she was sentenced, Judge Nicholas Rowland told her: "You took advantage of the trust that was put in you.
"You must have had some idea of what you were doing because you were spending significant amounts on your lifestyle.
"You're still taking holidays while that £93,000 is outstanding."
Tribbeck, who admitted a single charge of fraud by abuse of position, wept as she was sentenced to 24 months in prison.
Following the case, Diane Cutler, Chair of Trustees, and Rachel Billsberry-Grass, Chief Executive, Wessex Cancer Trust, said in a joint statement: "We are relieved that this matter has now been concluded by the Courts.
"We have been devastated that Paula Tribbeck, a trusted member of staff would steal from our charity.
"This fraud dates back to 2019 and today's sentencing marks the end of an almost three-year legal process.
"This has been a difficult time for the charity, and we would like to thank all our staff, volunteers and supporters who continue to help us to provide desperately needed emotional support for local people living with cancer."
ends.
