A travel agent who stole thousands of pounds from the family-run business where she worked has been told to expect a prison sentence after being convicted by a jury.
A jury of eight men and four women found Belinda Traves guilty of three counts of fraud and three of theft, totaling £13,302, the Hull Daily Mail reports.
Traves, former manager of Holiday Travel, based in Bridlington, Hull, who has not yet been sentenced for the offences, worked for the company for 11 years.
The jury found Traves not guilty of a additional charge of fraud by falsifying records, relating to the alleged theft of £83,000.
Recorder Patrick Palmer said: “A pre-sentence report will be prepared in your case. You must cooperate with the probation service.
“The fact that I’m adjourning the case for a pre-sentence report is not an indication of the type of sentence you will receive – it is highly likely in your case that you will receive a custodial sentence and you must prepare yourself accordingly.
During the trial, it emerged that Traves was investigated internally in 2008 after complaints from two colleagues that she had replaced their initials on holiday files with her own, which could have affected their commission.
Managing director Stephen Allerston said the defendant had become a trusted friend.
He said: “We tried to look at the bigger picture, tried to justify it, that it was something that was done because she wanted to be one of the top sales people, and it was sales-driven rather than gaining anything out of it, that she didn’t gain financially from it.”
Two further complaints were made in 2012 and the police were notified.