County Derry man who stole £15,000 from employer avoids prison

A County Derry man used his position within a pawnbroking business to steal money to finance his gambling habit has avoided a custodial sentence.

Lee O'Connor (33), of Copeland Crescent, Ballykelly, appeared at Coleraine Crown Court on Friday for plea and sentencing after admitting a charge of fraud by abuse of position.

The court heard that between February 2017 and April 2018, the defendant held a position at a firm called 'Cashbrokers' on Strand Road, Derry; a franchise operation run by the complainant.

The injured party had asked the defendant to have a sum of money available for a customer on April 27 2018, with O'Connor confirming that afternoon that the money was ready for collection.

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However, when the complainant arrived to collect it, he discovered a sum of cash missing from the safe, and after conducting an audit of stock discovered approximately 63 items had also been taken.

Approximately 33 'buy-back' tickets had also been taken, with total loss amounting to £22,155.

The injured party reported the matter to the police, who went to the defendant's property and seized a number of items, located and arrested the defendant.

During interview, O'Connor told police he had been working in the shop for approximately 15 months.

He said the complainant had deducted money from his wages due to previous cash discrepancies and said he had started to make a number of 'bad buys' during this time.

In an attempt to hide this, the defendant said he would take money from the cheque-cashing side of the business, and admitted selling items on 'buy-back' to other pawnbrokers.

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The incident occurred in the car park of a local Tesco store.

Judge Babington referred to an impact statement submitted by the complainant, in which he detailed the effect the offence had on his business and personal life.

The business was forced to close, with the complainant saying he held the defendant in 'utter contempt' and that his actions had 'adversely affected' his mental wellbeing.

A pre-sentence report said the defendant was from a supportive family and had a university degree in Business Management.

The report revealed that at the time of the offence, O'Connor was having difficulties with gambling, to the extent he is now signed up to GAMSTOP, a service to help control online gambling.

The defendant accepted full responsibility for his actions and said he had allowed his gambling addiction to 'spiral out of control'.

The report also added that the defendant apologised unconditionally.

Judge Babington said the defendant was entitled to the 'maximum credit' for how he had approached the case, and that the offence fell into the lowest monetary band for the charge.

He said an agreed sum of £15,000 was ready to be paid, and that the case did pass the custody threshold, but the judge opted to deal with the case by way of a combination order.

He sentenced O'Connor to 60 hours' community service, alongside an 18-month probation period, and warned him that if he did not co-operate, he would be re-sentenced, with a high likelihood of prison.