Police have issued a mugshot of a woman without her Muslim veil after she stole taxpayers’ cash, having turned up to court wearing a niqab.
Shaheda Lorgat, 49, went for court hearings in a niqab after being charged with stealing £21,000 from a college where she worked as a purchasing officer.
Passers-by were unable to see her face as she arrived at Preston Crown Court, Lancashire, to face justice over the thefts.
But after she was jailed for a year Lancashire Police agreed to issue Lorgat’s mugshot without her face covering and issued a statement saying frauds like the crimes she committed would “not be tolerated”.
The case comes just days after another Muslim woman accused of witness intimidation was ordered by a London court to remove her veil when giving evidence at her forthcoming trial.
Lorgat, from Blackburn, Lancashire, had systematically stolen thousands of pounds of taxpayers money earmarked for college equipment at Blackburn College over a three year eight month period to fund a “lavish lifestyle.”
She spent the stolen money on a holiday to Florida, a trip to Alton Towers, solicitor’s bills for her divorce and builders’ costs including renovations to her bathroom.
The thefts came to light in February 2012 when a member of staff noticed discrepancies on the college credit card.
An internal audit uncovered ‘financial discrepancies’ and Lorgat was suspended from her role. Police initially feared up to £90,000 had been stolen.
Among the personal items Lorgat paid for on the college account were a total of £9,031 worth of personal travel costs, solicitors bills totalling £2,464 and a total of £8,473 worth of tradesmen’s costs.
Other items included £465 worth of services at Alton Towers, £315 worth of personal holiday costs, a supermarket bill of £202, goods worth £245 for personal use and prescription sunglasses worth £153.
Lorgat, who has since been sacked from her job, pleaded guilty to 19 counts of fraud by abuse of position.
She claimed she started fraudulently using the credit card when her husband left her after more than 20 years’ of marriage. She said the break up led to mental health problems.
In mitigation defence lawyer Leila Ghahhary said: “When her husband left her, she felt a desperate need to pretend to the outside world that everything was okay.
“Her state of mind and emotional anxiety and the stress she was going through at the time led her behave in a way that projected something totally different, hence the spending.”
Passing sentence, the judge, Mr Recorder Robert Crawford, said: “All these things you did with public money that should have been spent on an educational institution.”
After the hearing, Rachel Curry, director of resources at Blackburn College, said: “The college is satisfied with the outcome of the legal proceedings against a former colleague who was dismissed from our employment over 18 months ago following an investigation initially triggered by minor financial discrepancies.
“As one of the largest and most financially stable further education colleges in the UK, whilst the situation was unfortunate and regrettable there was no impact on the education and training of our learners.”
Lorgat’s ex-husband Mr Mohammed Lorgat said in a statement: “She has no connection with the Lorgat family and committed the fraud by spending on lavish lifestyle and luxuries. She carried out these activities after we separated and divorced and I have had no contact with her.”
A Lancashire Police spokesman said: “Shaheda Lorgat was in a position of trust and used the credit card for her own financial gain.
“The card was meant to be used to buy equipment for pupils with certain requirements but instead she used it to buy herself things.”
PC Anita Whittle said: “I am pleased with today’s sentence, especially given the amount of money that Shaheda Lorgat spent on Blackburn College’s credit card which was there to be used for things that benefit the college and its students.
“I hope that today’s sentence shows that fraud of any kind will not be tolerated, and those who think that it’s acceptable to commit this type of crime will be brought before the courts.”