Ruth Vaughan, 27 (pictured) and her lesbian lover Lavinia Kitching, 29, scammed John Lewis out of £30,000 while they worked in the returns department
A pair of lesbian lovers who worked at John Lewis scammed the company out of £30,000 by pretending to return a string of expensive items before selling the goods on eBay.
Lavinia Kitching, 29, and 27-year-old Ruth Vaughan, who both worked in the returns section at the department store, splashed out on Armani watches, MacBooks and iPads before manipulating the internal system to make it appear as though they had returned the items.
But the pair would instead keep the products, before listing them on eBay and selling them for hundreds of pounds.
The 'sophisticated' seven-month scam only came to light when the company's investigators noticed a large amount of John Lewis goods being sold from Kitching and Vaughan's accounts on eBay.
Kitching and Vaughan, who have both since been sacked, admitted fraud and theft but were spared jail when they appeared at Birmingham Crown Court.
Passing sentence, Judge Philip Parker QC told them: 'The ugly feature, as far as the court is concerned, is the gross breach of trust and the sophistication of the fraud, in terms of it being in-house and your attempts to cover up what you were doing.'
Prosecutor Madhu Rai told the court that the pair both worked in the returns department of a John Lewis warehouse in Shirley, West Midlands.
Kitching was employed as a manager while Vaughan had a more junior role. Both would have had an in-depth knowledge of the returns process, the court heard.
The court was told how the pair would legitimately buy new items, including women's clothing and iPods, through the store.
But, within the seven-day return period, the pair would surreptitiously scan the items back through the system while they were at work to make it appear as though they had been returned.
In a bid to avoid being caught, they would even return the 'unwanted items' under the name of their various colleagues.
But Kitching and Vaughan would not give the items back to the store and would instead keep them to sell online.
Mr Rai added: 'This was a well-thought-through plan by both defendants, targeting their employer.'
Will Harrington, defending, said both women were ashamed of what they had done and that they were not 'living the high life'.
The 'sophisticated scam' only came to light when the company's investigators noticed a large amount of John Lewis goods being sold from Kitching and Vaughan's accounts on eBay (file picture of John Lewis in London)
He said: 'This occurred at a difficult time. Kitching had broken up from a long-term relationship and was struggling financially.
'She had formed a new relationship with Vaughan. This was an emotional time for both of them.
'In order to pay some bills they embarked in this course of conduct. It is not them living the high life.'
But the judge added: 'Over a period of seven months you set about stealing from your employer.
'Of course, working there you knew how to take advantage of the system. You were able to manipulate matters.
'You made it appear as if other members of staff had returned these items to cover your tracks.'
Kitching, from Knowle, West Midlands, and Vaughan, from Stourton, Stourbridge, both admitted one count of theft and one count of fraud.
Kitching was handed a 16-month jail term, suspended for 12 months, while Vaughan was given a 14-month sentence, also suspended for 12 months.
They were both ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work and pay £250 costs.
The court was told that the women have paid most of the money back.
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