Chasjit Verma, 37, from Romford, Essex,(pictured with her husband Sanjay outside Southwark Crown Court) allegedly fleeced the Jubilee Hall Trust over a seven-year period between 2008 and 2015
A finance chief who stole nearly £1m from a health charity to bankroll luxury holidays and VIP tickets to see Britney Spears was branded an ‘accomplished liar’ by her boss.
Chasjit Verma, 37, from Romford, Essex, allegedly fleeced the Jubilee Hall Trust over a seven-year period between 2008 and 2015 by assigning false references to transactions purporting to go to suppliers.
Her husband, Sanjay Verma, also 37, was also paid £20,000 in sham payments for organising and decorating office parties, it is claimed.
The Jubilee Hall Trust is a health and fitness charity that runs a series of gyms across London, including one in Westminster reserved for parliamentary staff.
CEO Philip Rumbelow said Mrs Verma worked in an office just two doors down from his at their Covent Garden building, near the London Transport Museum.
‘She was a difficult employee to manage, but unfortunately that hid the fact that she was stealing money from us the whole time,’ he said, detailing her poor appraisals in 2012 and 2013. ‘She was regularly pulled up for poor performance.’
Mr Rumbelow issued Verma with a letter of concern in 2012 before a trustee levelled a verbal warning following another disciplinary meeting.
In 2013, he again pulled her up ‘when she was failing to do her job properly’ but the subsequent written warning came a few months outside the six-month window allowing for her dismissal in light of the earlier reprimand.
Mr Rumbelow himself was briefly chided by the judge when he broke off during his evidence to call Verma ‘a very accomplished liar’.
Asked why he did not spot the alleged fraud earlier, he explained that the payments out had been ‘incremental’.
‘Like most fraudsters they start small and get bigger,’ he added, describing how around £5,000 was swiped during the first year and increasing to £100,000 in Verma’s last year with the charity. ‘But by that time she got greedy.’
Matthew Turner, prosecuting, asked if Verma was entitled to any money in addition to her £42,000 salary.
Mr Rumbelow said the trust has ‘a good range of staff benefits’ and employees can claim back expenses for things like mileage but could not recall whether she had ever done so.
In relation to bonuses, he added: ‘Bonuses are very rare. We are a charity, so we do not often give bonuses.’
The charity boss explained that ‘the person who makes the transfer puts the reference on’ before telling jurors that was Mrs Verma alone.
‘She’s labelled them in different ways, usually to disguise them I suppose,’ he added.
‘She was the only one who had access and the only person who had the ability to move money from bank accounts.’
Verma allegedly used charity funds to buy tickets to a Britney Spears concert. The singer is pictured at the Piece Of Me concert in Hollywood on April 22, 2015
Mr Rumbelow was quizzed on a list of bookings discovered in Mrs Verma’s emails folder after she was made redundant in December 2015.
Mr Turner put a series of hospitality events to Mr Rumbelow before asking if any were authorised by him.
Jurors heard two bookings were made using Verma’s work email address on 18 November 2014 for VIP tickets to a Michael Bublé concert in addition to floor seats to see the New York Knicks basketball team at London’s O2 Arena on 15 January 2015.
‘Same question as with the Michael Bublé tickets, was the basketball match something authorised by you?’ asked Mr Turner.
‘Absolutely not,’ Mr Rumbelow replied, adding: ‘We would never do something like that for the company.’
The prosecutor followed up: ‘Did you attend?’
When Mr Rumbelow confirmed he had not, he asked: ‘Did you know about this? ‘No,’ the chief executive said.
Similar exchanges followed in relation to other bookings.
Jurors heard one was made on 27 November 2014, again with Verma’s work email, contact name and telephone number provided for the matinee Disney On Ice performance at the same venue on Christmas Eve the following month.
‘Is that something that had anything to do with the Jubilee Hall Trust?’ asked the prosecutor, which Mr Rumbelow denied.
The jury was also taken through corresponding payments into Verma’s accounts from those belonging to the Trust, allegedly to cover the expenses.
An identical exercise was carried out between prosecutor and executive confirming bookings for four tickets totalling just over £6,700 for another basketball game between Orlando Magic and the Toronto Raptors, again at the Greenwich venue.
Records also showed a booking with Planet Hollywood, in Las Vegas, to see Britney Spears’ Piece of Me show in August 2014 using Verma’s American Express card.
‘What was the position as to any company credit card issued to Chasjit Verma or anything like that?’ asked Mr Turner.
‘She didn’t have a company credit card – thank goodness,’ said Mr Rumbelow.
The prosecutor told jurors two payments were made from the former finance director’s Barclays account into that Amex account to cover the meet and greet package’s £7,400 bill.
It is claimed the same method was employed to pay for a £14,000 family holiday to Cancun flying upper-class.
Verma denies two counts of fraud. Her husband, who is also from Romford, denies money laundering.
The trial continues.
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