Fraudsters stole £20k of stock from employer Hut Group in Warrington

Stefan Murgan and Mariana Dobre were responsible for a plot to defraud the business from the Warrington warehouse in which they worked.

Goods obtained through the scheme were worth more than £20,000 before their illegal activity came to light.

Police were then informed and the pair were charged with fraud by abuse of position, appearing before Liverpool Crown Court to be sentenced, assisted by an interpreter.

Catherine Ellis, prosecuting, spoke of how both defendants were employed by The Hut Group, working at the firm’s large Omega warehouse aside the M62.

Their scam would see them order low-value items from their employer and have them delivered to their own homes.

When they arrived, the pair would peel the labels off the parcels and reuse them on other deliveries, with boxed filled with much more expensive items from within the warehouse.

These new parcels would again be delivered to their homes – allowing them to get their hands on goods worth a total of £23,756.

The fraudsters saw their clever con rumbled however on December 17, 2022, when a conveyor belt detected parcels that were heavier than expected, and packaged in boxes too large for the products they were meant to contain.

The delivery was destined for Murgan's home on Radway Road in Huyton and, if packed correctly, should have contained collagen capsules.

Instead, the box was packed with two pairs of Ugg boots, two Michael Kors bags and a Kurt Geiger bag worth a combined £921.

Investigations revealed CCTV footage showing Murgan packing two boxes with items that had not been scanned, as well as him attaching wrong labels from his pocket.

Dobre was also filmed packing a box sealed by her co-accused.

After the police were involved, officers searched Murgan's home and found boxes containing fraudulently obtained goods worth £19,752.53.

One box was supposed to contain a protein bar, but in fact it contained a watch, two Marc Jacobs bags, a Paul Smith bag and a Vivienne Westwood wallet worth more than £2,000 combined.

Stefan Murgan and Mariana Dobre were jailed at Liverpool Crown Court

A third delivery purportedly containing vitamins actually included a Moschino bag, Lacoste hat and socks gift set worth more than £200.

Authorities also found a delivery destined for Dobre's home on Dean Road in Salford, with the supposed chocolate bar contents missing and replaced with two Michael Kors bags, a Tommy Hilfiger bag, a pair of Converse shoes, clothing and Gillette shaving products worth in excess of £800.

Ms Ellis revealed to the court the pair’s criminal records, with 28-year-old Romanian national Murgan amassing three previous convictions for four offences – motoring matters and failing to abide by a community order.

Dobre meanwhile, aged 43, had no previous convictions, the court heard.

Mitigating for Murgan, David Woods spoke of how his client – a dad-of-three – committed the offences to cover debt and financial pressures, having been ‘tempted’ by other fraudsters at the warehouse.

“He is extremely sorry. Ultimately, all of the items were recovered and none of them had been sold and converted into cash,” he said.

"He continues to be a hardworking man. He works for a leading supermarket in the cold store at a warehouse.”

On behalf of Dobre, Arif Ashraf stated that her involvement was with goods worth £833.

“She has been totally devastated. She feels she has not just let the company down, but herself, her own morality and her own being inside of her,” her defence brief stated.

“She is extremely sorry for something she would never think of doing again. She has a completely unblemished record.

"She is keen to pay back what she can to the community. She wants to be at peace with herself and her god. She is a very devoted Roman Catholic.”

Mr Ashraf added that his client currently works ‘extraordinarily hard’ for Aldi, but has debt and is in a ‘very bad, vulnerable financial position’.

Murgan was sentenced by recorder Mark Cooper to 16 months in prison suspended for two years, along with 200 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

The court handed Dobre four months behind bars, but suspended for a year, as well as 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 85 hours of unpaid work.