Image copyright PA 
 
 Harry Potter author JK Rowling has launched a £24,000 legal claim against a former employee for allegedly using her money to go on shopping sprees. 
 
 Ms Rowling, 53, claims Amanda Donaldson broke strict working rules by using her funds to buy cosmetics and gifts. 
 
 Ms Donaldson worked as a personal assistant for the writer between February 2014 and April 2017, before being sacked for gross misconduct. 
 
 The 35-year-old from Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, has denied the claims. 
 
 Legal papers lodged at Airdrie Sheriff Court allege Ms Donaldson wrongly benefited to a value of £23,696.32 by spending on a business credit card and taking Harry Potter merchandise. 
 
 Memorabilia requests 
 
 It is claimed Ms Donaldson had responsibility for funds and was provided with a credit card for buying items in connection with business and personal affairs only. 
 
 She had to submit statements and receipts once a month to the accountants and also had access to a safe containing foreign money. 
 
 But discrepancies were picked up in February last year on statements revealing a high volume of personal spending by Ms Donaldson. 
 
 She had a meeting with an accountant to discuss use of the card and was suspended. 
 
 Ms Rowling has alleged Ms Donaldson made a series of unauthorised payments, including: 
 
 £823 at Bibi Bakery 
 
 £1,482 at luxury candle company Jo Malone 
 
 £3,629 in cosmetic firm Molton Brown 
 
 £2,139 in card shop Paper Tiger 
 
 £1,636 in Starbucks. 
 
 Ms Rowling also claims Ms Donaldson, who controlled memorabilia requests from fans, used her position to steal a Harry Potter motorised Hogwarts Express worth £467.56, a Harry Potter Wizard Collection worth £2231.76 and a Harry Potter Tales of Beedle The Bard Set worth £395. 
 
 Ms Rowling says the toys were taken without her "knowledge or consent". 
 
 It is alleged Ms Donaldson bought two cats worth £1,200 and withdrew £400 in cash for a deposit for a restaurant lunch but that Ms Rowling's husband Neil Murray discovered no deposit had been paid. 
 
 The author also claimed her former employee took £7,742-worth of foreign money from a safe. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Ms Rowling claims her husband, Neil Murray, discovered that a £400 deposit for lunch at a restaurant was not paid 
 
 Ms Donaldson has denied the claims and said Ms Rowling had "not suffered any loss and is not entitled to damages" from her. 
 
 A spokeswoman for Ms Rowling said: "I can confirm JK Rowling has taken legal action against her former personal assistant, Amanda Donaldson, following her dismissal for gross misconduct involving a substantial breach of trust. 
 
 "As the case is not yet concluded we are not able to comment further and there won't be any comment from JK Rowling." 
 
 Ms Donaldson was unavailable for comment. 
 
 The case before Sheriff Derek O'Carroll is due back in court later this year. ||||| JK Rowling is suing her ex- assistant for allegedly splashing thousands on a credit card without authorisation. 
 
 The Harry Potter author has accused Amanda Donaldson, 35, of spending £10,000 on a business credit card and helping herself to £3,000 of merchandise. 
 
 PA:Press Association 3 JK Rowling's ex- assistant allegedly spent thousands of pounds on a credit card without the author's approval 
 
 Court papers seen by The Sun claim Donaldson’s alleged spending was rumbled by JK’s hubby Neil Murray, 47. 
 
 He called a Michelin-starred Edinburgh restaurant the assistant was supposed to have booked for a party — only to find it hadn’t been done. 
 
 The writer, 53 — who appeared before Airdrie Sheriff Court in Scotland under her real name Joanne Murray - is suing for more than £24,000 in total. 
 
 She claims Donaldson, from North Lanarkshire, Scotland, took funds and spent money without her authorisation. 
 
 facebook 3 Amanda Donaldson, 35, denies all the claims made against her 
 
 The former PA, who was sacked for gross misconduct, denies the claims. 
 
 The separated mum-of-two, who used to be in the Royal Navy, is said to have spent money at Jo Malone and Molton Brown, racked up nearly £2,000 in coffee shops and even allegedly spent £230 in Waterstones. 
 
 JK — worth nearly £500 million — told Sheriff Derek O’Carroll financial inaccuracies were allegedly discovered when her accountant reviewed a spreadsheet Donaldson updated. 
 
 The former employee is claimed to have “fraudulently” marked entries as either for business or personal use by her boss. 
 
 3 Amanda Donaldson from Scotland took funds and spent money without the authorisation of the Harry Potter author 
 
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 She is also accused of stealing foreign currency to use herself. 
 
 After the claims came to light, Donaldson is said to have blamed JK’s nanny Fiona Shapcott. 
 
 Court documents state Donaldson has refused to repay the sum. A spokeswoman for JK confirmed action to get the cash back is underway. 
 
 The case continues next month. 
 
 Trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindlewald
– A woman who worked as JK Rowling's personal assistant for more than three years allegedly used a business credit card issued to her by the Harry Potter author to buy stuff for herself—lots of stuff. In a new lawsuit against Amanda Donaldson, Rowling says her former employee benefited to the tune of more than $31,000 by charging all sorts of things to the credit card—including nearly $2,000 at a luxury candle company, nearly $5,000 at a cosmetics store, and more than $2,000 at Starbucks—plus helping herself to Harry Potter merchandise. Rowling is suing Donaldson, who was fired in April 2017 after spending discrepancies were uncovered, for more than $31,000, the BBC reports. Per the Sun, Rowling's husband helped to uncover the alleged misdeeds. In addition to the allegedly unauthorized "business" expenses, which also included $2,800 at a stationery store and more than $1,000 at a bakery, Rowling says Donaldson was in charge of handling memorabilia requests from fans—and that she used that role to snag items including a "Harry Potter Wizard Collection" worth nearly $3,000 without Rowling's "knowledge or consent." Perhaps the oddest expense of all: Donaldson allegedly spent more than $1,500 on two cats. She's also alleged to have taken more than $10,000 in cold hard cash, most of it from a safe she had access to. Donaldson, 35, has denied the allegations and has claimed Rowling has "not suffered any loss and is not entitled to damages." (When Harry Potter and philosophy class merge.)