Over £36,000 was stolen from Whetstone-based Prism Network by a gambling addict working at the company.
The Hinckley Times reports Katherine Bethell, a 29-year-old accountant at Prism, made 14 transactions to her personal account from the company purse to fuel her gambling addiction. Prism works with brokers and insurers to facilitate quick responses to disaster recovery and repair claims.
The transfers, ranging between £1,400 and £3,600, were disguised as payments to contractors. Bethell created a fake company name tied to her bank account, so payments initially went unnoticed when signed off by a director. The fraud was committed between May and October last year, and Bethell was immediately fired when details came to light.
She was reportedly spending the money on online games and scratch cards. Bethell told the court the first fraudulent payment she made was to cover a council tax bill, but quickly spiralled out of control.
Police have seized a ring worth £1,000 and two laptop computers in hope of compensating the company in a later hearing.
Judge Ebraham Mooncey said it was fortunate the accounting department found out what was going on, and Bethell handed a 16-month jail sentence suspended for two years, 120 hours of unpaid work and a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
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