A mother-of-two has been jailed after stealing over £440,000 from her employer and spending most of it on TikTok “tokens” to gift to her favourite online creators.
Katherine Greenall, 29, wept in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court as she was sentenced for what the judge described as a “massive abuse of trust” that left her employer on the brink of collapse.
The court heard how Greenall, who worked as an accounts manager at New Reg Ltd — a private car registration firm — siphoned off £443,500 across 121 fraudulent transactions between February 2024 and April 2025. Of that, more than £300,000 was spent on TikTok, where users can purchase virtual gifts to send to influencers during live streams.
Greenall told police the gifting “became an obsession.” Her barrister, Paul Becker, said she may have developed an addiction to the app, noting: “What she was getting out of it was entertainment, a sense of connection. That is where the majority of the money was going.”
In addition to her social media spending, the court heard Greenall used the stolen funds to bankroll luxury holidays, shopping sprees, hotel stays, Amazon purchases and even legal bills for her family.
Greenall joined the company in April 2021 as a customer service manager and was promoted to accounts manager in December 2022 — a role that gave her access to sensitive financial systems.
Prosecutor Christopher Taylor said she quickly became a “trusted and respected” member of staff, viewed as “a vital part of the company’s growth.”
However, behind the scenes, Greenall was manipulating internal reports and diverting company funds into her personal bank account. She made dozens of unauthorised payments without detection — until profits began to slump.
Her employer confronted her about the declining revenue, and she initially pledged to look into the matter.
Instead, she transferred one final £20,000 payment into her account and left the office, falsely claiming a family member had fallen seriously ill. She never returned to work.
The fraud only came to light after she later confessed to her actions and was arrested. The company’s leadership said the embezzlement nearly caused New Reg Ltd to fold, placing dozens of jobs at risk.
“This was an egregious breach of trust,” Mr Taylor told the court. “The financial impact could have been catastrophic for the business and its staff.”
Greenall, who has two young children — a six-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son with severe ADHD — will serve her prison sentence while her sister takes over childcare responsibilities. Mr Becker told the court Greenall was “thoroughly ashamed” and had come prepared to be jailed.
Judge Neil Flewitt KC said while he acknowledged her responsibilities as a mother, the sheer scale of the fraud left the court with no option but to impose an immediate custodial sentence.
“You were trusted and respected,” he said in sentencing. “Your employers were aware of the challenges you faced at home and made allowances. You repaid that trust by stealing from them on a massive scale.”
He added, “It is a tragedy that your children will suffer as a result of your dishonesty. But this is simply too much money and too much damage. There is no alternative to a prison sentence.”
Greenall was sentenced to a term of imprisonment, the length of which was not publicly disclosed at the time of publication.
The case is the latest in a growing trend of so-called “TikTok crimes,” in which individuals rack up large debts or commit fraud to fund virtual gifting or increase their visibility on the app. Experts warn that the app’s addictive nature and dopamine-driven reward systems may leave some users vulnerable to compulsive spending.
Published by: https://m10news.com
By: F. Dayo Olusola
Category: UK News | Crime
