A woman who suffers from a compulsive shopping disorder has been jailed for taking £130,000 from her employers.
Claire Johnston, 34, bought Valentino and Christian Louboutin shoes, expensive jewellery and treated friends to lavish gifts.
The finance worker was arrested after colleagues spotted pictures of her luxury lifestyle on her social media accounts.
Following her arrest Johnston was diagnosed by psychologists with “compulsive buying disorder”.
Her defence lawyer Jonathan Straw said the condition gave his client a “buzz” from “buying items and treating people”.
Despite her disorder Johnston was jailed for 20 months at Lincoln Crown Court.
Judge Simon Hirst, passing sentence, told her: “You used this money to fund a lavish lifestyle that you couldn’t afford.
“You lived the sort of lifestyle that many people dream of living.
“It is right to say that not all of the money was spent on you. Some of it was on treating other people. None of it was a necessity.”
Johnston was employed in the accounts department of an engineering firm owned by her husband’s cousin.
Lincoln Crown Court heard that both her husband and brother also work at the family-run company.
Johnston received invoices from companies and altered them by inputting her own bank details.
It appeared that she was paying suppliers but in fact the funds were going into her own account.
Mark Watson, prosecuting, said: “A number of colleagues had noticed over social media that the defendant was flaunting what might be described as a lavish lifestyle.
“Money was spent on things like holidays, designer shoes and designer watches.
“There were two trips to Las Vegas and a wedding in Mexico.
“There were other holidays in Cyprus and Florida.
“There were a number of shoes by Valentino and Christian Louboutin and some jewellery.”
The court heard Johnston, of Grantham, Lincs, also spent £5000 on a weekend in London.
She admitted defrauding the company of £132,435 over a three-and-a-half year period.
Jonathan Straw, defending, said “The psychologist describes her as having a compulsive buying disorder getting a buzz after buying items and enjoying treating people.
“This wasn’t purely motivated by a sense of greed.
“This was in many ways a young lady with all sorts of issues who thought somehow that she was endearing herself to others with lavish gifts.”