An accounts administrator who plundered more than $27,000 from her employers has been handed a suspended prison sentence and ordered to repay the money.

Tannea Santucci, of Sandys, had pleaded guilty to dishonestly falsifying accounts and stealing cash from Bermuda Motors when she appeared in Magistrates’ Court in October.

The court heard that the 31-year-old stole the money while she worked for the car dealership between 2013 and this year.

According to prosecutor Nicole Smith, Santucci used various accounts to move and siphon money in a “sophisticated scheme” over a two-year period, always taking cash.

She added that Santucci would falsify accounts by creating fictitious insurance transactions, pretending to reverse legitimate payments and taking cash from the daily cash flow.

Santucci also repeatedly put her car in for a service at Bermuda Motors and then forged documents to cover her tracks and avoid paying for the work.

Her crime spree came to light in April when she told a receptionist that she had already counted the cash.

However, the receptionist, who had already done the same calculations, noticed that $1,470 was missing from Santucci’s total.

The receptionist raised her suspicions, which prompted an internal review that revealed further discrepancies totalling $27,440.

Santucci was arrested on July 11 and taken to Hamilton Police Station, where she admitted the majority of transactions and falsifying the accounts.

Ms Smith asked for a custodial sentence of no less than two years for the offences, which both carry a penalty of five years’ imprisonment or a $10,000 fine or both.

However, defence lawyer Ken Savoury said the pre-sentencing reports indicated that Santucci could be a candidate for community service.

He added that Santucci committed the offences in a “moment of poor judgment” because of financial difficulties and that she was very remorseful for her actions.

“No one apart from Bermuda Motors suffered any loss or damage,” he said, adding that Santucci had no previous convictions and that her actions were “very uncharacteristic”.

Santucci, a mother of two, told the court that she did not spend the money on luxurious items but used it to cover bills and pay for expenses such as groceries and nursery fees.

“I just wanted to say that I am not a bad person,” she said. “Everything I do is for my children and the fact that I wouldn’t be able to be with them everyday is torture.

She added: “All I am asking for is a second chance.”

But having heard from both Mr Savoury and Santucci, senior magistrate Juan Wolffe questioned the sincerity of the defendant’s remorse.

“I am not convinced that she feels genuine remorse for her actions,” he said.

Mr Wolffe also questioned if she understood the impact they had on her employer and the other employees at the car dealership.

“There are apologies which are genuine and there are apologies that are vacuous,” he said, adding that Santucci’s leaned more towards the latter.

“I think you’re more upset about what your actions could do to you,” he told her.

“These offences were not one-off, opportunistic occurrences but rather a series of choreographed offences carried out by the defendant over a period of time.

“These sorts of offences require a lot more planning and sometimes do a lot more damage.”

Mr Wolffe sentenced Santucci to a one-year prison term for dishonestly falsifying accounts, suspended for two years.

He also handed her a two-year prison sentence, also suspended for two years, for stealing cash from the car dealership.

This will be followed by a two-year probation period and Santucci must repay the $27,440 to Bermuda Motors by paying $500 a month starting in March next year.

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