Online Gambling Addict Jailed

Gambling Addict Jailed After £73,000 Theft
Written by Mark Bennett

An accounts manager and divorced mother has been given a 13 months jail sentence after stealing £69,000 to fund her online gambling addiction. Michelle Oliver blew £62,000 of the funds on gambling in just 8 months the Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

Oliver took the money from her employer CVT Vehicle Services in Moor Street, Brierley Hill, where she worked as an £18,000 a year accounts manager. Most of the money she took was credited to her Sky BET account, where she spent the money on casino gambling, prosecutor, Rydian James, claimed.

The 44 year old gambling addict also spent £4,000 at the William Hill online betting site. The thefts were only discovered in May last year after customs officers told her employees that they owed four months of PAYE tax relating to their employees to the value of £16,000.

Oliver was dismissed as it was her job to have paid the bills and subsequent inquiries showed that the company was £14,000 behind on its VAT bill and suppliers bills had also not been paid. A full examination of the business accounts showed that Oliver had taken a total of £68,903 from CVT Vehicle Services from September 2010 and May 2011.

Her previous employer was notified of the situation and carried out its own investigation which showed that she had stolen £5,000 from them in July 2010 just prior to switching employers.

Oliver opened her Sky BET account in November 2010 and the court heard how she showed a loss of £62,378 in July 2011 despite having paid in £64,000. She admitted stealing £73,000 from her two former employees and was jailed for 13 months. Oliver has 3 children, the youngest of which is 19 years old.