CAB theft accused 'was framed'

Mrs Foster said they had decided not to pay themselves for extra work until the bureau was in a healthy position

A former manager accused of the theft of £650,000 from the Citizens' Advice Bureau in Ammanford has told a jury she believed she was framed.

Sally Foster, 49, told Swansea Crown Court it was possible the culprit had given evidence at her trial.

An invoice had been planted because she and her husband were taking the bureau to an employment tribunal, she said.

Mrs Foster denies 10 charges of theft and six of false accounting. Husband Dale, 65, denies 10 theft charges.

Mrs Foster was being cross examined by Geraint Walters, prosecuting, about a bogus invoice for £34,500, which matched the exact amount paid into a bank account operated by her and her husband.

She said she had never seen the invoice before being shown it during the police investigation.

Questioned about the invoice, which appeared to have been sent out by Days Mobility but which turned out to be a forgery, Mrs Foster said she could speculate as to who was responsible.

When Judge Gerald Price asked her if she was saying she was being framed, she replied "yes".

She believed the invoice had been planted because she and her husband were taking the bureau to an employment tribunal, the court heard.

She said the culprit was "someone who had had access to the documents since I left the bureau. I think it has something to do with the industrial tribunal."

"So someone at the bureau is trying to frame you?" asked Mr Walters.

"Yes. It's framing. It's correct. I don't know who, possibly someone who has given evidence."

The invoice appeared to relate to the installation of a wheelchair lift at the bureau.

Mrs Foster said the £34,500 paid to her related to work carried out by her husband maintaining the bureau's information technology systems and had nothing to do with the Days Mobility invoice.

The trial continues.