Hairdresser convicted of thefts from Edinburgh salon

Published on Wednesday 23 July 2008 11:18

A TOP hairdresser has been found guilty of stealing almost a thousand pairs of hair straighteners from an award-winning Edinburgh salon and selling them on eBay for thousands of pounds.

Mark McMorrine, 37, stole the top-of-the-range GHD hair straightening irons – which sell for up to 140 each in shops – from Charlie Miller Hairdressing in Ocean Terminal, where he was the manager, and another salon.

He then sold 946 pairs of irons on internet auction site eBay, raking in 62,000 of profit.

A jury at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today found him guilty by majority of theft and fraud after a three-week trial. McMorrine, of Lasswade Court, Lasswade, Midlothian, has been allowed to remain on bail until he is sentenced next month after background reports.

The Crown is now taking steps to try and claw back some of the money he made under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

A trusted member of staff who had been with the company for 13 years, McMorrine was tipped to be a future partner in the family-run chain of five salons, which was founded by hairdresser Charlie Miller in 1965.

But in September 2006, accountants noticed thousands of pounds of stock was missing and the Miller family called in a private investigator.

McMorrine initially pointed the finger at two other salon workers, and one was tailed by investigators for two weeks before being cleared and the other was suspended then later reinstated.

But suspicion fell on McMorrine, who was known as Steven to his colleagues, when he was seen on CCTV entering the salon on his day off and leaving with three pairs boxes of straighteners.

It emerged he had advertised the GHDs on his two eBay accounts – often sneaking into salons late at night to use company computers – then sent trainee hairdressers out to post the stolen goods for him.

McMorrine failed to mention his internet trading to his bosses even once the investigations began, despite knowing the products missing were the same as he was selling.

His scam began to unravel when investigators, suspecting the stolen goods were being sold on eBay, checked the site and found two accounts with names matching McMorrine's private registration plates.

He was suspended after returning to work after his honeymoon and later resigned.

When questioned by police, McMorrine claimed he had bought the irons from other eBay users for just 45 then sold them for undisclosed amounts.

But despite his claims, McMorrine was unable to produce any evidence of his alleged supplier, with records from ebay showing he made over 900 sales but no purchases.

The jury took two hours to return their majority verdict.

It was alleged McMorrine had stolen 74,700 of irons and products but the jury took out the figure after hearing claims the company had a "chaotic" stock system and had lost track of what they had.

Salon boss Charlie Miller, 63, who was in court to hear the verdict, said afterwards: "I'm glad its all over for everyone's sake and happy that justice has been done.

"I'm very sad for him," he added.