Somerset man jailed for £1.3 million fraud from pharmacy
Darren Mackenzie, 41, of Minehead has been sentenced to five years and eight months in jail
Last updated 4th Dec 2022
A Somerset man was today given five years and eight months in jail after defrauding the company he worked for more than £1.3 million.
It followed an investigation into what a court heard was the 'brazen' theft of money from a pharmacy in Minehead between January 2011 and October 2019.
Darren Mackenzie, 41, of Minehead, has pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of a position of trust - and showed no emotion as the sentence was delivered.
He was sentenced today at Taunton Crown Court.
Manraj Singh Punni, 48, who now runs 12 pharmacies across Devon, Somerset and Bristol, has spoken about the impact of the fraud and how it could have put jobs at risk - saying his colleague of 20 years lived a secret lavish lifestyle 'like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman' after her character was given money and immediately started buying designer clothes.
He told the court the 'abuse of trust' involved money paid by the NHS to help people in deprived rural areas being used to fund a lifestyle of 'greed and extravagance'.
Mr Punni saw himself as a 'guardian' of Mr Mackenzie who was given increasing responsibility after being 'proud' of him.
In 2006 he became an 'authorised signature' of the business and his levels of 'freedom and responsibility' grew as time went on.
In 2017, Mr Punni noticed the business was not doing well and eventually found himself 'at his wits end' as he cut costs and expenses, increased his work hours and never took holidays - he also sold personal assets and cashed in investments to free up cash.
Mr Mackenzie's life was described as 'lavish' until September 2019 when suspicions arose - and Mr Punni started investigating the accounts.
It emerged one staff member had not been paid for a year and Mr Punni's brother was owed £75,000.
Police found a 'huge amount of luxury items and receipts' at Mr Mackenzie's life home for the fraud which the court heard lasted 'just over eight and a half years'.
The court heard there is 503 items now in the auction list, including a kitchen, watches, clothes, champagne, sea chests and designer goods which will cover 'nowhere near the full extent of the fraud'.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Punni said it left him 'struggling for survival in arguably the toughest financial climate since the Second World War'.
He said the former staff member lived an 'outrageous lifestyle with no regards as to the costs' and he's been left now working extra hours and was unable to start a family of his own as a result of the increased 'stress and anxiety'.
Mr Punni called the impacts of the fraud 'massive and life-changing' and told the court he has since worried about the impact on his several thousand patients which could have resulted in 'no access to a pharmacy' if they had been forced to close.
He told the court, since 2021 they are now the only pharmarcy running Covid vaccination centre in Minehead - something that might not have been offered if they had been forced to close.
Defending the case, the court heard Mackenzie lived an 'isolated' and 'lonely' childhood based on moving around a lot. The suggestion was the 'responsibility was given to him for something he couldn't cope' - but 'saw an opportunity' and now 'understands how awful his behaviour was'.
His Honour, Judge P Cook, told the defendant 'he (Mr Punni) was a friend and had absolute trust in you' after he 'rescued him' while homeless, gave you free accomodation, employment and a good salary.
He called it a "systematic process and the fact you took from him, month in and year in, and year out for over eight years while masquerading as supportive and loyal friend makes the hurt and deep sense of betrayal" even worse for Mr Punni.
He reflected that staff numbers at the business were reduced, Mr Punni had doubled his working hours and had to re-establish damaged relationships with suppliers - and the fraud affected Mr Punni's brother who was left financially out of pocket.