Scratchcard addict stole them for thrill of winning

Mathew Amy, 33, of Flat 1, 27, George Street, St Peter Port, admitted two counts of theft when he appeared in the Magistrate’s Court.

He was sentenced to complete 120 hours of community service, with Judge Graeme McKerrell saying that only his co-operation with police had stopped him from going to jail.

Crown advocate Chris Dunford told the court that Amy had worked at Braye Road Garage for about two years. His usual hours were 6.30-9pm and he was usually there on his own. His employer would do the cashing up.

The garage sold scratchcards and would only pay out on wins of up to £50. If people won more than that they had to cash them at other outlets. Stock control was not simple.

On 11 September the employer was made aware by someone who worked at another outlet that the defendant had cashed two winning tickets of £1,000 each at his shop in June.

This made the employer suspicious because he was aware that the defendant had bought a new car, and so the scratchcards were monitored more carefully.

CCTV from 19 September showed the defendant scratching cards at work. He threw some in the bin and put others in a trouser pocket which, the prosecution contended, were losers and winners respectively. It was established that the tickets had not been scanned on the till and he was arrested.

He made a full admission in interview. He said he had been stealing scratchcards for about seven weeks.

He admitted stealing 45 of them on 19 September and said this was the worst he had done.

He had a problem with scratchcards and gambling and said a large portion of his wages went on this.

He had taken about 100 tickets, of which about 30 had been winners, and he had cashed them at another store.

There had been no big wins and the £1,000 wins had come from tickets he had bought legitimately.

He had been taking medication for a back problem which sometimes caused him to get confused and he could not remember things.

The prosecution case was that the defendant had benefited to a total of £443.93 There was no claim for compensation because the employer was holding in excess of that in unpaid wages.

Advocate Samuel Steel, for Amy, said the offences had been difficult to track.

The money had helped his client with travel costs for family reasons.

He had apologised for what he had done in interview and had written a letter to his employer.

He had been spending all of his disposable income on scratchcards. It was not so much about the money, but getting the thrill of scratching a winning card.

His employer had trusted him to handle money in a customer facing role. His client had since spoken to the Guernsey Gambling Support Group and the criminal justice system had been a huge deterrent for him. He had lost his job because of this and was now doing two jobs elsewhere. One employer said he was a good worker and trustworthy.

Judge Graeme McKerrell said the defendant had been put in a position of trust by his employer.

‘Whether it’s cards or cash is irrelevant – a loss is a loss, no matter which form it takes,’ he said.

‘The most significant point in your favour is your full co-operation with police and it’s only that which spares you from an immediate custodial sentence today.’

n The community service orders, which runs concurrently for each offence, were a direct alternative to two months in prison.