A pair who used company credit cards to place more than 1,100 fraudulent orders totalling nearly £300k have been jailed.

Leia Jones and Kayleigh Stonestreet were working for a business in Rochester between 2013 and 2017 when they cleared personal debt and bought luxury items for themselves using their employer’s accounts.

They ordered items including cleaning products, camping equipment, home décor, mobile devices and designer clothes from more than 600 retailers – all of which came to £289,074.

Their fraudulent activity was uncovered on December 7, 2017, when a mobile phone provider reported unusual activity on the company account.

After initial inquiries were made, it was revealed that Stonestreet had ordered 92 phones totalling £41,000 which she had then sold to an online phone recycling firm for just over half their value.

Further internal investigations led to the discovery of financial irregularities on other accounts and the two women were arrested by investigators from Kent Police’s Economic Crime Unit on May 21, 2018.

Stonestreet, 36, of Beacon Road, Chatham, was charged with two counts of fraud by abuse of position.

Jones, 37, of Sun Road, Swanscombe, was charged with one count of the same offence.

Both were also charged with two further counts of fraud for spending more than £100,000 each on online purchases – they both admitted the charges.

“‘These women were trusted in their roles, and they purposely deceived their employer over a number of years for financial and material gain...”

Stonestreet was jailed for three years and 10 months while Jones was sentenced to two years and seven months.

Both women were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday, April 3.

Detective Sergeant Adam Stallard of the Kent and Essex serious Crime Directorate said: “Fraud is not a victimless crime.

”These women were trusted in their roles, and they purposely deceived their employer over a number of years for financial and material gain.

“I am certain if their offending had not come to light, they would have continued to defraud the company.

“Their sentences are justified and I hope they serve as a reminder to others who may be thinking of committing similar crimes.”