Cirencester PA stole £1.3m from employer and gambled it away

The PA to the head of a Cirencester law firm has admitted stealing nearly £1.3 million from her employer, most of which she lost gambling.

Sandra Rebeira, originally from Portugal, pleaded guilty last week to stealing £1,277,585.99 from Residential Lawyers Ltd between February 2012 and August 2015.

The court heard the stolen money was paid to the law firm as stamp duty by clients attempting to buy houses. Part of Rebeira’s role was to notify the Inland Revenue of these payments, but she allegedly transferred 145 of them to her partner’s bank account instead.

She used the money to buy a BMW car, a speedboat and a house in Portugal, while the rest was lost gambling on online betting sites. Rebeira admitted a charge of possession of criminal property and converting it for her own use.

Her partner Joao De Sousa pleaded not guilty to acquiring criminal property, knowing or suspecting it was the proceeds of a crime. He was required to provide details of his bank accounts to police as a result of an earlier sexual offence conviction, but has denied failing to do so. He claims he thought the payments into his account were from Rebeira’s gambling winnings.

The couple has been released to await De Sousa’s trial in December, after which Rebeira will be sentenced. They were ordered to sell their property in Portugal to recover some of the stolen money.

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