Woman stole cash to feed gambling addiction…

Woman stole cash to feed gambling addiction…

A store Manager from Priest Road, Swanage in the United Kingdom has embezzled funds to feed her gambling addiction.

Twenty-seven year old Kezia Hopkinson admitted that she stole £20,576 from WHSmith PLC while she was in charge of managing their sites at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. Accountants noted that money was disappearing and that the books have been “cooked” to balance the cash figures, an investigation was launched right away to ascertain the cause of the financial irregularities.

A spokes person for the company commented: “Due to vast amounts of National Lottery pay-outs we’ve installed security cameras to monitor the office and tills. The footage indicated Miss Hopkinson stealing cash and slotted in bogus sweepstake refunds or winnings.” She was confronted and vehemently denied of stealing the cash until she was shown the CCTV footage, she admitted that she owed £12,000 to her creditors.

Police were informed that she went on a gambling and party spree with friends at a local casino and wagered large amounts of the cash on slot machines. She intended to pay the stolen cash back and purchase a new vehicle with her “winnings” matters soon got out of hand and she slumped into more and more debt. She also added that she couldn’t help herself and subliminally she became a gambling addict.” The court was compassionate on Hopkinson since her previous track record proved to be reputable and she was really “sorry” about her little escapade.

She claimed that she was under intense pressure from her bosses and they pressured her for more and more sales, it wasn’t long before she became depressed which further exacerbated her gambling problem.

The judge who handled Hopkinson’s’ case; Judge Roger Jarvis said the felony is “extremely grave,” and told Hopkinson: “People trusted her and that she wasted all the cash to feed her selfish addictions.”

The judge levied a 40-week prison sentence, pending for 18 months; Hopkinson will need to be supervised for a period of one year as well as a 20-day activity requisite.