Former Halfords manager jailed for stealing £90K to gamble

The fraudulent activities of the man, who held a senior position at Halfords, affected the company's stores in Dumbarton and Perth. His crime came to light after an internal review, unrelated to his activities, found that there were larger shortfalls at the tills than expected.

According to the Mirror, G.R. embezzled money by inflating the value of customers’ coupons and taking the difference from store tills. The crime lasted from January 2013 to March 2018. When the truth came out, the man admitted his guilt.

He was sentenced to 30 months in prison at Perth Sheriff Court this week for stealing almost $120,000. During the trial, it was established that the man had suffered from gambling addiction since childhood and some of the stolen funds were used to support his addiction.

Sheriff Alison Mackay said the defendant’s actions were a serious breach of trust in the company. “This is a significant breach of trust,” she said, adding that while damages were considered, a prison sentence was considered necessary as part of the sentence.

The discovery of the fraud scheme began with an internal investigation aimed at uncovering other irregularities. During the investigation, it was discovered that two G.R.-operated companies had been involved in the fraud. locations - stores in Perth and Dumbarton - showed abnormally high balances in the safes. It was initially suspected that the amount of the shortfall could be up to £178,000 ($237,000), but the actual loss was eventually confirmed to be £90,000 ($120,000).

The fraudster used counterfeit coupons to take the difference in cash, and also occasionally took money from the safe to maintain the correct balance in the cash register. However, this led to the balances in the safes becoming suspiciously high, which attracted the attention of inspectors.

The man's lawyer noted that his client had suffered from gambling addiction since childhood, having made his first bet at the age of 13.