A Portsmouth City Council worker has received a suspended jail sentence for stealing over £70,000 in taxpayers' money to repay scammers who defrauded her. Amirum Begum, 49, worked in the council's housing office accountancy department, where she manipulated rent payment records to pocket the difference.
Begum stole a total of £72,582.17 between April 2022 and January 2023. She converted the stolen funds into Amazon gift cards to obscure the transactions. The council discovered the financial discrepancies, leading to an investigation and her subsequent dismissal after 27 years of service.
In 2021, Begum was defrauded after applying for a loan from what she believed was a legitimate company in Kenya. She subsequently faced coercion and threats from the scammers, prompting her to resort to stealing from the council to meet their demands.
At Portsmouth Crown Court, Begum was sentenced to eight months in custody, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. She had previously pleaded guilty to one count of theft by an employee. Charges of acquiring criminal property and false accounting were not formally sentenced but were kept on file.
Judge Michael Bowes KC acknowledged the seriousness of the offense, stating that the theft of public money was not excused by Begum's exploitation. However, he noted that the circumstances provided a significant explanation for her actions.
A spokesperson for Portsmouth City Council confirmed that acts of this nature are rare and are taken very seriously. The council investigated the matter, referred it to the police, and took appropriate management action. The spokesperson reassured tenants that services were not affected and that the incident represented a small fraction of the council's annual rent income. The council also reviewed its cash-handling processes following the incident.