A CALCULATING mother-of-two who plundered more than £406,000 from her former company has been today (Friday, September 30) ordered to repay just £45,440.

Helen Peverley, from Darlington, was jailed in July after lying to her family and colleagues to pocket hundreds of thousands of pounds from her employers, Capita – a national teachers’ pensions firm.

The former administrator used fraudulent payments to fund her lavish lifestyle by using seven different bank accounts to buy a £55,000 Audi Q5, a £400 tattoo and family holiday.

Peverley convinced her unsuspecting husband Steven that bonuses from work were behind the unlimited cash stream which she used to buy the couple’s home outright.

However, Teesside Crown Court heard yesterday the family’s house in Archdeacon Crescent, Darlington, has since gone up for sale in order to pay back Peverley’s arrears.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, who originally sentenced Peverley to two years and eight months in prison, ordered the divorced mother-of-two to repay £45,440 before the New Year.

During the proceeds of crime hearing, Dan Cordey, mitigating, said: “Ms Peverley has a house up for sale, valued at £124,000, and an offer has been accepted so that should go through smoothly.

“There is a 50 per cent share in the house and that’s relinquished by Mr Peverley.”

During the ten-minute hearing, Peverley showed no emotion as she sat in the dock and was given three months to make the repayment – the maximum time allowed to pay back a confiscation order.

Detectives investigating the case were unable to find where the majority of the £406,588.71 sum stolen by Peverley had gone, but revealed that she had no other assets that could be seized.

Mr Cordey told the court that of that amount, Peverley could only refund £45,440, after accepting an offer on her former home.

Judge Bourne-Arton added that Peverley – who was charged with one count of fraud spanning across two years – must continue to serve her jail sentence while the repayments are made.

Peverley’s crude money-making scheme was uncovered after a colleague become suspicious of her activity working as a pensions administrator in Capita’s bereavement section for eight years.

The system allowed Peverley to make duplicate bereavement payments of legitimate ones to claimants which were then put into her own accounts.

The Darlington woman was eventually arrested and dismissed from her £700-a-month job before she claimed to be suffering from depression and was unable to take care of herself.

Peverley was also able to pocket around £1,500 in benefits and qualified for legal aid after divorcing from her husband.