As news broke of Together Energy going bust in January 2022, residents voiced their fears for friends and family losing their jobs.
But one worker kept stealing from the firm - even a month after she was made redundant.
Margaret Jacovelli, from Kilwinning, embezzled £128,000 from the Clydebank-based energy company, starting just four days before the firm went into administration in 2022.
And then she took more money from the next job she went to.
Now the 48-year-old has escaped a potential jail sentence for her crimes.
She returned to Dumbarton Sheriff Court for sentencing, again claiming through her defence lawyer that she got "zero personal benefit" from taking the money.
The narrative of the facts in the case agreed by Jacovelli is that she used the money for holidays abroad and online gambling.
Her solicitor stated the money actually sat in her account, which was not personal benefit.
At a previous hearing, she also argued it was her former partner and co-accused, James Power, who "coerced" her into embezzling the money. The Crown accepted he was not guilty and he is innocent.
But at a hearing on July 6, her defence solicitor again said Mr Power, formerly of Greenock, now of Coventry, was the "architect of the plan".
Sheriff Maxwell Hendry said: "But Mr Power walked away scot-free.
"She simply sits on it until pleas have been tendered and then comes up blaming the person who is not guilty.
"It looks almost convenient."
Jacovelli's solicitor said: "In no way is she keen to protect Mr Power at all. The calculation was it did not meet the test of coercion and had to accept culpability.
"Had it not been for her relationship with Mr Power, this would not have taken place."
"But it did and she has to take responsibility," replied the sheriff.
The solicitor said his client had lived her whole life without criminal offending and had not been in trouble since 2022.
He said she got further employment after the embezzlement, but lost it as a result of publicity around her guilty pleas.
Although he accepted the crime met the custody threshold, there were reasons not to jail her.
He said Jacovelli is now caring for daughter Chloe Smith, of Bilby Terrace in Irvine, who was also originally a co-accused in the embezzlement case. She has recent significant medical needs and the solicitor said Jacovelli was the only family member able to act as carer.
The sheriff said: "This is a crime that deserves prison. It's as simple as that."
Her solicitor replied: "Ultimately, she did accept what she has done."
The sheriff said she could have accepted it last year and not waited to see spreadsheets.
In April, Jacovelli pleaded guilty to embezzling tens of thousands of pounds, starting four days before Clydebank-based Together Energy went into administration.
She made multiple refunds from Together Energy between January 14 and February 18, 2022 to an account she set up in the name of her daughter, worth more than £54,000.
Also starting in January but stretching until March 17, she diverted dozens of payments totalling more than £74,000 to her then partner. The court heard he didn't have an account with Together Energy either.
In April 2022, she started working as an administrative assistant at Stevenson-based Hayward Contracts Ltd.
Her employment was ended in July 2022 and weeks later, suppliers got in touch about unpaid invoices. Jacovelli had diverted almost £20,000 to herself.
Sheriff Hendry said his "first, second and third" thoughts were that he had to send her to prison.
"You were an integral part of the whole system, and it could not have happened without your ongoing involvement with two employers," he said.
He said a jail term of two and a half to three years was possible.
But instead, he put her under social work supervision for two years. She must do the maximum 300 hours of unpaid work within 12 months.
And she will be under an electronically monitored curfew for six months.
The sheriff added: "If you reappear before me, I will know I have made a mistake and send you to prison."
Proceeds of crime action will be taken against Jacovelli in November.
Anne-Marie Hicks, procurator fiscal for North Strathclyde, said: "As an employee of two companies, Margaret Jacovelli committed an appalling breach of financial trust.
"She flagrantly abused her position on both occasions to embezzle thousands of pounds.
"The financial welfare of both those businesses depended on the very funds that she stole.
"This case demonstrates that those who seek to exploit corporate funds for their own personal gain will be held fully accountable for their crimes.
"We will always prosecute in such cases when it is in the public interest and where there is evidence to do so."
