Landlady swindled £18,000 from the pub she worked at
A crooked landlady swindled the Black Country pub where she worked out of more than £18,000 of cash and stock.
Charlotte Maley, aged 27, was in charge at The Cross pub in Stourbridge when the stock went missing and she failed to bank the cash.
When owners Marston's first questioned the missing money she tried to blame another member of staff for stealing £2,000 and said a problem with some of the beer had meant it could not be sold. But after more missing cash and stock came to light, Maley, of High Street, Lye, eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of theft.
Marston's terminated her contract after finding a total stock loss of £13,025 and cash loss of £5,442 from the Glasshouse Hill pub in Oldswinford.
Prosecutor Oliver Woolhouse told Wolverhampton Crown Court: "She and Marston's had a slightly unusual agreement in that she was required to pay a £5,000 deposit up front, and from then on she would be paid 20 per cent of the profits the pub made, and she would bank the remaining money to Marston's.
"Between May 7 and 15 last year, she failed to bank takings and there was money missing.
"She said a member of staff had stolen £2,000 but was going to repay it. No action was taken at that stage and Marston's agreed to let her repay the money. Then on June 8 last year, it was found the pub was £1,500 down in stock, with £709 being draught beers.
"Marston's questioned the discrepancies in missing stock and she told them it was a cellar issue, which was to blame.
"Examinations of the cellar were made and no problems were detected.
"She still wasn't banking the money for Marston's and the area manager terminated her contract.
It was later found that a considerable amount of stock was missing."
Samantha Powis, defending Maley, said she had not spent the money on a lavish lifestyle.
"It was the first time she had been a landlady and she had been left to her own devices.
"It is fair to say that she felt she was left to fend for herself and didn't fully understand what she was doing."
Judge Marcus Tregilgas-Davey handed a 10-month jail term, suspended for two years, and ordered her to carry out 175 hours of community service and a 30-day rehabilitation requirement.
