A company based in Norfolk has been able to retrieve more than £1 million that had been stolen from it after one of its employees misappropriated the money to feed their problem gambling behaviour.
According to reports from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), SealSkinz, a waterproof accessories seller based in Norfolk, got back voluntary cashback amounting to a total of £1.2 million from the gambling companies that the fraudster spent the misappropriated funds on. The senior financial investigation manager at ERSOU, Paul Fitzsimmons, shared that the case once more highlighted the fact that the Unit’s financial investigators would continue to use their powers to strip such stolen assets of criminals.
Mr Fitzsimmons further shared that the ERSOU’s teams remained committed to making sure they did everything they could in order to see the money returned to victims of such crimes.
After the conviction, the SealSkinz’s employee Andrew May got convicted for his actions in July 2021, the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit held a further probe into the case with the assistance of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). As a result, the Unit was able to determine the amount of stolen money that was gambled away by Mr May, as well as the exact online gambling platforms on which the problem gambler spent the money.
After these revelations were made, the gambling operators that received the misappropriated funds as a result of SealSkinz employee’s gambling activities decided to voluntarily transfer the money back directly to the company. Apart from the stolen funds that were successfully retrieved by the company from gambling operators, the investigation also revealed that the fraudster owns assets of about £49,500. This amount is also set to be repaid to the company for the caused inconveniences.
Fraudster Suffered from Gambling Addiction, Legal Representative Claims
During the legal proceedings that took place after the money misappropriation, SealSkinz revealed that its employee’s activities resulted in cost reductions at the company that also forced it to lay off some of its staff members. Furthermore, the company’s shareholders were forced to make further investments in order to make it possible for SealSkinz to continue operation.
According to reports, Andrew May, a 46-year-old employee of SealSkinz misappropriated a total of £1.3 million.
The fraudster started stealing funds from their employer in February 2015, at the time they held the position of finance and IT manager at SealSkinz. He created false invoices that had been allegedly issued by various suppliers and transferred the money to his personal bank account. The money was then used by Mr May to gamble on different online gambling platforms.
The fraudulent activities continued after Mr May was promoted to head of supply at the company and up to the end of July 2019, when he was eventually caught.
The legal representative of SealSkinz’s employee argued that Mr May suffered from gambling addiction that resulted in him making a series of wrong decisions and misappropriating the money. The fraudster’s lawyer also highlighted the fact that the payments received by one of the online gambling operators amounted to £461,000 but the website did not pose any questions about the funds’ origin or the player’s solvency. Apart from that, May has never received any help to limit his excessive gambling habits or any other assistance to address his problem gambling behaviour.
In July 2021, the SealSkinz’s employee was convicted for his crimes and is now serving his four-year imprisonment sentence.
- Author
Olivia Cole
