A Beckenham property conveyancer who defrauded companies out of half a million pounds has been jailed for five years.

Oonagh Grant, 57, of Altyre Close, began her string of offences in 2011 and was given a two-year suspended sentence for transferring company money into accounts she had control of, and was banned from working for a solicitors firm.

In 2013 she changed her name to Frances Bernadette Grant and began working as a self-employed conveyancer for a Lewisham law firm.

She redirected funds from the company amounting to £28,000 before she was dismissed and reported to the police.

Grant then started work for a Bromley law firm and stole a total of £223,950 before she was caught after a tip-off from her former employers.

Detectives from FALCON, the Met’s response to Fraud and Linked Crime Online, arrested Grant in December 2015. During the interview she denied all offences and was subsequently released on bail with a condition that she does not work for a law firm.

Despite the court order and the bail conditions, Grant found employment with a legal firm in Reading and began stealing funds. When the company was alerted that she was subject to a Section 43 order she was immediately dismissed. An audit conducted by the firm identified Grant again diverting funds, this time into her personal bank account.

Police arrested Grant for breach of bail conditions in October 2016. She was subsequently charged and remanded in custody.

She was later released on bail by the court to allow for her to undergo planned surgery. She was bailed to appear at Croydon Crown Court on November 23 last year.

Grant failed to attend this and one further court appearance due to being ‘medically unfit’. The letters supplied to the court purporting to be from Grant’s GP were identified by detectives to be fraudulent. A Bench Warrant was immediately issued by Croydon Crown Court and she was arrested on January 15 on suspicion of fraud.

Between January 1 2014 and August 3 last year, Grant stole £536,250 from three companies and only one of the three companies was able to recover some of the funds stolen. This was made possible when Grant’s bank account was frozen as a result of the police investigation.

Detective Sergeant Daren Walby of the Met’s Operation Falcon said: "Grant is a serial fraudster who believed that she was above the law; she even went so far as to send fake GP letters to the courts to delay her trial. I’m pleased that today she has received a substantial sentence, which reflects the severity of the crime and her contempt of the judicial system.”

Grant pleaded guilty on February 23 to three counts of fraud by false representation and three counts of dishonestly failing to disclose information for personal gain or to expose others to loss at Croydon Crown Court.

She was sentenced yesterday (May 24).