A devoted single mum has been jailed after stealing 35,000 a MONTH from her work to feed an insatiable gambling addiction.<\/p>\n
Accounts manager Leanne Gouldthorpe stole more than 346,000 from the company, a logistics firm in North East Lincolnshire, in just 10 months after getting herself trapped in the \"powerful grip\" of a gambling addiction.<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old was losing an average of more than 1,000 a day betting, thought to be largely online.<\/p>\n
A court heard the money that Gouldthorpe stole was now \"lost forever to the gambling companies\" and the plundering of such a huge sum of money had caused serious problems for the company.<\/p>\n
She was jailed at Grimsby Crown Court for two years and eight months despite a plea that she be given a suspended prison sentence.<\/p>\n
In court, she was described as a caring single parent to an eight-year-old boy and had been a sole carer after her partner left her when she was pregnant.<\/p>\n
Gouldthorpe admitted fraud and false accounting while working for the company at its head office near Grimsby between February and December 2018.<\/p>\n
Gouldthorpe tried to cover her tracks during the long-running fraud by falsifying records for VAT payments and the total sum plundered was said to be 346,535.<\/p>\n
Andrew Bailey, mitigating, said that Gouldthorpe met someone who was a gambler and became addicted to gambling.<\/p>\n
\"That's the reason behind this offending,\" said Mr Bailey.<\/p>\n
\"She has lost everything because of her gambling addiction. She has lost all her life savings.\"<\/p>\n
She turned to using the company's money after initially borrowing cash from family members but losing the trust of friends and relatives because of her gambling.<\/p>\n
\"She couldn't stop gambling,\" said Mr Bailey. \"This is no less an addiction than an addiction to Class A drugs.\"<\/p>\n
Gouldthorpe naively thought that she might be able to pay back the money.<\/p>\n
\"She was, frankly, unaware of how much she had taken,\" said Mr Bailey.<\/p>\n
\"She was in the genuine grip of this addiction. She couldn't stop. Gambling has ruined her life. She was unable to think about the consequences of her actions.<\/p>\n
\"She couldn't think about the consequences, which have been significant on the company she worked for. She is disgusted in herself.\"<\/p>\n
Her actions were blinkered and the gambling had a \"powerful grip\" over her but she had shown remorse.<\/p>\n
Gouldthorpe, previously of Marsh Lane, Barton, had suffered mental health problems and had spent about three months in hospital.<\/p>\n
She was too ashamed to tell her family the full extent of what she had done.<\/p>\n
Gouldthorpe acted out of character and had no previous convictions.<\/p>\n
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The court heard after she became pregnant, her partner at the time left her. She was left with low self-esteem and had suffered with anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n
She had suffered a number of setbacks but had always tried to work through her difficulties.<\/p>\n
There were glowing references for her and they \"could not be more positive\" about her.<\/p>\n
\"She did cooperate with the investigation and made early admissions,\" said Mr Bailey.<\/p>\n
\"She has been determined to address her addiction to gambling. She offers her sincerest apologies to the victims.<\/p>\n
\"Given some time, she could raise the sum of 50,000 to go straight to the victim.\"<\/p>\n
Mr Bailey asked for sentencing to be deferred so that payments could be made if possible but the judge declined to do this.<\/p>\n
The \"long-lasting impact\" on the company had been profound because of the systematic fraud when she had sole access to its business account.<\/p>\n
Judge John Thackray QC told Gouldthorpe that, as accounts manager of the company, she had sole access to the company's business account.<\/p>\n
North East Lincolnshire Council works with local organisations, such as Krysallis, who work with GamCare, to provide free advice and support for anyone affected by problem gambling.<\/p>\n
If youre concerned about your own or someone elses gambling, services such as Krysallis can help.<\/p>\n
For more information or for ways to get help, visit: krysallis.org.uk or call 01472 857939.<\/p>\n
GamCare offers free information, support and counselling for problem gamblers in the UK. It runs the National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133 and also offers face-to-face counselling. Visit http:\/\/www.gamcare.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n He said over a period of 10 months, she stole over 340,000 which had almost all been \"lost forever to the gambling companies\" because of her abuse of trust.<\/p>\n \"Your offending has had a profound and long-lasting impact,\" said Judge Thackray.<\/p>\n \"Only appropriate punishment can be achieved by way of a custodial sentence.\"<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: <\/p>\n Single mum jailed after stealing 35,000 a month to feed her astonishing gambling habit - Grimsby Live<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A devoted single mum has been jailed after stealing 35,000 a MONTH from her work to feed an insatiable gambling addiction. Continue reading