A young man from Waterlooville, Hampshire, has been found guilty of fraud that involved more than 25 unauthorized transactions conducted over a period of over a year. The man stole more than £43,000 from his employer to fund his gambling habits and live a lavish lifestyle, driving expensive cards with customized registration numbers.
The gambling addict, 23-year-old Bradley Young, of Silvester Road, Waterlooville, was sentenced to 12 months prison suspended for 18 months along with 80 hours of unpaid work during a Portsmouth Crown Court hearing. The man has been found guilty of multiple counts of fraud and according to the prosecution, he committed the offences between April 2016 and November 2017 while he was employed as a purchase ledger at A. D. Williams Coachworks, an auto repair centre in Emsworth.
The company noticed the employee’s suspicious behaviour after he was seen on security cameras at Waterlooville service stations making unauthorized transactions. The transfers, totalling £1,600, were for petrol and were made on a company credit card. According to the CCTV footage, the man used the money for himself and his friends. After he was confronted by his superiors at A. D. Williams Coachworks, he handed in his notice.
Management at the firm started an investigation and Young’s actions were reviewed. The company discovered a total of 20 fraudulent transactions and unauthorized invoices worth £41,220. According to prosecutor Martyn Booth, the man issued invoices to existing clients for services that were not provided by the firm. He also made up clients and changed the banking details to send money to different banks. The new bank accounts he provided linked to him, the prosecutor pointed out, and this included the accounts of his mother and his best friend.
The defendant also used the security details of his colleague to commit several offences. When these payments took place, however, she was on holiday, which meant that Young was responsible for these frauds, too. He denied using the login details of his coworkers, however, admitting to only a portion of the unauthorized transactions.
Scammer Found Suffering with Gambling Addiction
Bradley Young admitted two counts of fraud. According to his attorney, he used the company’s finances to “help him through after suffering with gambling addiction”. Meanwhile, the scammer lived beyond his means – although his income was modest, he drove expensive cars, including an Audi sports car and a Mercedes. The cars also had customized registration numbers, prosecutor Booth said.
The man was arrested in January 2018 but not until he managed to get his mother and best friend in serious trouble. After police found that the unauthorized transactions were made to their bank accounts, they were arrested and later exonerated. Young’s “sophisticated” scheme involved 26 transactions that resulted in £42,820 loss for the company. The funds have been returned to the employer through the insurance.
The man was spared jail and was instead given 12 months prison sentence suspended for 18 months. The lighter sentence came after Young had no previous offences and was willing to repay the money he had stolen. In addition, he attended counselling for his gambling problem.
- Author
Daniel Williams
