A Brighton woman is due in court accused of stealing more than £150,000 today (Monday 4 January).
Suzanne Lili May, 39, of Willingdon Road, Brighton, is expected to face eight charges when she appears before magistrates.
May is accused of stealing the money from her boss Christopher Hornzee-Jones, 48, at Aerotrope, the renewable energy company that he set up in 2005. The business is based in New England Street, Brighton.
May faces five counts of theft by an employee, two counts of false accounting and one charge of fraud by false representation.
The theft charges allege that May stole
- £29,636.78 between dates in June 2011 and May 2015
- £30,397.09 between dates in June 2012 and June 2013
- £42,112.05 between dates in July 2013 and June 2014
- £42,934.76 between dates in July 2014 and July 2015
- £150,000 between dates in January 2013 and July 2015
The first false accounting charge alleges that between dates in April 2013 and April 2014 “at Aerotrope Ltd, Brighton, dishonestly, with a view to gain for yourself or another or with intent to cause loss to another, falsified an account, namely end-of-year accounts for Aerotrope Ltd 2013-14, made or required for an accounting purpose.”
The second false accounting charge alleges that May cooked the books for the next financial year too.
Between dates in May 2012 and July 2015 she is said to have “committed fraud in that you dishonestly made a false representation, namely that you were entitled to use the credit card held in the name of Aerotrope Ltd, intending to make a gain, namely for yourself, property, goods and services without paying for them legitimately”.
May, who is on police bail, is due to make her first appearance at Brighton Magistrates’ Court this afternoon.
