Garden centre chef fakes invoices totalling more than £14,000, court hears
A chef who worked at Seasons Garden Centre in Burton Latimer, Northants, swindled his employers out of more than £14,000 after faking dozens of invoices, a court heard.
Thirty-four-year Christopher Brown was trusted to pay for supplies for the cafe at Seasons in Cranford Road, where he was the chef manager.
But over the course of just under a year he created invoices for desserts which were never ordered - and paid himself the cash.
On Tuesday (March 30) Brown was handed a 10 month prison sentence suspended for 12 months.
Northampton Crown Court heard the experienced chef started working at the garden centre in December 2018. Part of his role was to order and pay for food to be used in the cafe.
The court was told that in total he defrauded the garden centre out of £14,256.21.
An office manager at the garden centre's parent company spotted the crime and confronted him, with Brown immediately confessing.