A financial manager who stole almost £200k from her employer to go on exotic holidays and shop at high-end stores has been jailed for five years and 10 months.
Anita Mirmohammadi, 31, splashed the cash at Harrods, Selfridges and Mercedes-Benz as well as jetting off to Dubai, Mexico and Turkey.
She exploited her access to sensitive financial information and the corporate credit card but was caught after her transactions were exposed during routine checks.
Mirmohammadi, from Finchley, north London, syphoned off a total of £184,675 from a firm in Essex over a four-year period.
After starting work at a Brentwood-based business as a manager in their finance team in 2018, Mirmohammadi was given access to a business credit card.
It was four years later when her firm alerted police of unexplained transactions across the globe during unrelated fraud checks.
She spent four years using the company’s money – £126,381.19 by credit card and £63,294.70 from the business account via invoices.
Police say she spent on luxury items as well as everyday purchases on Apple, Amazon, eBay, Uber, Zara, Thames Water and Harley Street Dental.
Anita Mirmohammadi, 31, spent four years using her company’s money – £126,381.19 by credit card and £63,294.70 from the business account via invoices
Mirmohammadi was arrested at Gatwick Airport as she returned from holiday in Dubai on May 22, 2022, but when interviewed answered no comment to all questions
She splashed the cash at Harrods (pictured), Selfridges and Mercedes-Benz as well as jetting off to Dubai, Mexico and Turkey
After police were notified, Mirmohammadi was arrested at Gatwick Airport as she returned from holiday in Dubai on May 22, 2022, but when interviewed answered no comment to all questions.
She was later charged with fraud by false representation on February 10, 2023 and, following a seven-day trial, was found guilty at Basildon Crown Court on March 14, 2025.
Speaking after the conviction, Detective Constable Karen Venables said: ‘This sentence shows the severity of Mirmohmmadi’s offending.
‘This was a calculated, ongoing fraud that would have continued had she not been caught, and I am glad to see the judge recognise this in his sentencing.
‘It was clear from the deception we found in these accounts that Mirmohammadi knew what she was doing was wrong and was trying to cover her tracks.
‘Our Economic Crime Team has worked closely with the banks, businesses and Action Fraud to piece together the full extent of her offending – that work doesn’t stop at sentencing, and we now turn to confiscating any criminal gains under the Proceeds Of Crime Act.’
