Hampshire woman swindled £600,000 from Nolato Jaycare

Jolene Groves, from Bishop's Waltham, siphoned off payments meant for clients into her and her boyfriend's accounts while working for medical equipment manufacturer Nolato Jaycare.

It was also suggested that she contributed to the loss of 125 jobs at the Portsmouth office after the company was forced to close its operations in Hampshire in 2020.

Prosecutor Matthew Lawson said Groves, 47, stole the money between 2017 and 2023, and continued to work from home for the Newcastle branch of Nolato after the Portsmouth office closed in 2021.

The court heard that a company investigation revealed 84 records of Groves re-routing payments to her own accounts between July 2017 and September 2023.

The total sum defrauded was £603,272.62 - however, the firm believes the true amount could be as high as £1,063,473.90.

At Winchester Crown Court on May 9, Recorder Jodie Mittell sentenced Groves to four years in prison after she pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position.Jolene Groves (Image: Andrew Croft/Solent News) Sentencing, Recorder Mittell said: “You took just over £600,000 from a company that you had been employed by for many, many years. In 2023, it came to light that a supplier had raised an issue with a payment.

“You used some sort of flaw in the [company's] system to change the bank details, so instead of the money going to the suppliers as intended, they went either to your bank account or your partner’s.

“What you did went undetected for some time.

“At the very least, your behaviour must have contributed towards the financial difficulties that the company had. The company had to close a branch in Portsmouth; I don’t find that you directly caused that branch to close.”

Chris Gaiger, mitigating, explained that Groves, of Oak Road, used the money to fuel her drinking habit.

“There’s no evidence of any lavish lifestyle,” he said. “The money has been spent on day-to-day living and to fund her alcohol problems.”

Mr Lawson reported that Nolato estimated Groves could have stolen more than £1m in what he called a “Ponzi-like” scheme in which she used the bank account of her partner, Gary Wickenden.

However, as the investigator could not access the company’s full financial records beyond 2017, this could not be verified.

He added: “It is my opinion that Jolene Groves’s fraudulent behaviour directly contributed to the closure of the Portsmouth site. […] The full fiscal impact of the fraud has [also] impacted the Newcastle site.”

The court heard how Groves was one of just two employees who requested to be transferred to the company’s Newcastle headquarters after the Portsmouth office closed.

However, she was allowed to work from her home in Bishop’s Waltham after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021.

Mr Gaiger detailed how Groves' fraud began.

He said: “She initially started to clear some personal debts. Due to her mental health and alcohol addiction, the stress of the situation exacerbated her mental health and alcohol abuse.”

This, said Mr Gaiger, created a “snowball effect”, which led her fraud to become “akin to an addiction”.

The judge noted that friends and family had described Groves as a “kind, respectful and compassionate person” and “a friend who’s loyal and caring”.

Nolato has yet to receive the entire sum stolen, having been repaid only around £500,000 through insurance to date.