ALLEGED thief Mandy Mills hides her face from the camera as she leaves Hyndburn Magistrates Court on Monday.
The accounts assistant is accused of stealing more than £60,000 from her boss who is dying of cancer.
Mills, 34, of Hoyle Street, Accrington, did not enter a plea, speaking only to identify herself.
She is charged with eight specimen offences of theft dating back to 23 June 2005 and two charges of fraud relating to false expense claims.
Emma Kehoe, prosecuting, said the defendant was alleged to have stolen in the region of £63,000 from her boss Ken Harrison of UK Maintenance, a landscape gardening business on the Huncoat Business Park.
The magistrates agreed that the case should be dealt with at crown court.
The case was adjourned and Mills was given unconditional bail to re-appear at Hyndburn Magistrates Court on 24 September.
Mr Harrison, 62, has been battling leukaemia for seven years and is also suffering from myelofibrosis, a failure of the bone marrow. He has been given only months to live.
He arrived at the court alone and told the Observer: "I just hope I live to see the outcome of the case."
