A former pack house manager at East Lothian Produce Ltd has admitted to a massive £550,000 fraud after inventing fake employees and diverting their wages into her own bank account. Viktorija Lukjanova, 36, was caught after using the names of family members to create false identities for workers at the agricultural company.
Fake Employees and Forged Documents
Lukjanova, who had worked at the vegetable processing business since 2011 and was promoted to pack house manager in 2019, was responsible for processing time sheets and managing wages for agency workers. Between January 2021 and February 2024, she fabricated time sheets and invoices for non-existent staff, funneling their salaries into her own bank account.
The scam was exposed when a manager at East Lothian Produce became suspicious after noticing that two of the workers’ names matched family members of Lukjanova. Upon investigation, it was revealed that these workers never existed, and Lukjanova admitted to using the family names to cover for workers without proper documentation to work in the UK.
During the investigation, Lukjanova reportedly confessed that the stolen money had been shared with a colleague, and she later admitted that wages had been deposited into her personal account. Despite initially denying any wrongdoing, she pleaded guilty in Edinburgh Sheriff Court to obtaining a total of £550,000 from the company.
The court heard that Lukjanova had been in charge of liaising with external employment agencies and managing the financial documentation used to pay workers. Prosecutors also revealed that Lukjanova had acknowledged the fraud when confronted, stating, “I’m going to jail.” She was dismissed from the company following the discovery of the fraud, and the police were alerted in February 2024.
Sentencing is scheduled for next month, with the possibility of custody still on the table. A social work report and restriction of liberty order assessment will be prepared ahead of her next appearance in court. Lukjanova’s actions have severely impacted the family-owned business, which supplies vegetables throughout Europe from its base in East Lothian.
