Ewa Bieniak, 46, a payroll administrator at Wednesbury-based Sirus Automotive, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison for stealing nearly £200,000 from her employer. Between November 2021 and March 2024, Bieniak siphoned off £194,509.66 by setting up “ghost employees” and diverting company funds to herself.
The theft initially cast suspicion on innocent staff before authorities identified Bieniak as the culprit. This marked her second major fraud conviction; between 2010 and 2015, she stole over £300,000 from a Birmingham recruitment agency, serving two and a half years in prison for that crime.
Defence lawyer Queenie Djan explained Bieniak’s actions stemmed from a compulsive spending addiction triggered by emotional distress after her mother’s death in 2018, which she was unable to attend the funeral for. Djan said spending was Bieniak’s way of coping, without considering the consequences.
Judge Heidi Kubik KC described the crime as sophisticated and aggravated by its impact on the company and previous convictions. She urged Bieniak not to seek jobs with financial access in the future to prevent recurrence.
Bieniak broke down in tears as she was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on June 16.
