An accountant stole more than £ 2.4M from working companies to work for their gambling addiction.
The Newport Crown Court heard that Jemma Lewis, 40, who was at a salary of £ 200,000, stole money from five businesses within the same family of companies.
His actions created a lot of tension to other members of the employees, leaving a director, the other lost to his salary, and a woman was unable to reach her pension.
Lewis of Volwarhampton convicted the five -year prison for a five -year prison for the concurrent cases of fraud by misuse of the situation.
His works also meant that James Davis -owned companies did not contribute enough tax.
Mr. Davis said that Lewis was like a daughter for him, and felt like a family.
The five companies that they cheated against Daisy Wale Limited, Charwood Accounts, Edward Davis Construction and Fastnet Properties Limited.
Prosecution’s Alex Orandal told the court that Lewis began working for Sri Davis in 2007, first played a role as a receptionist.
By 2017 she was an accountant for a group of companies after its accountancy training funded by the company.
However, financial problems started arising when the company went into an online banking system.
For the first time, the company began to see adequate and unexplained recession in profits.
When suspicion of increase in third -party payments was increased, Lewis officially resigned in 2023 and a new accountant took over.
When Lewis approached Sri Davis about his dissection payment, he saw a link between his account details and several other payments on the account.
Mr. Orandal said: “Instead of paying the third party people, she was paying herself and disguising them as proper payment.”
Between 2018 and 2023, the total payment to his account exceeded £ 3.6m, overall his salary and other legitimate payments were more than £ 2.4m.
Mr. Orander said that its £ 1.4M was sent to the known gambling companies, but this figure is likely to be more because it is difficult to identify all gambling companies.
He spent £ 67,000 on Crypto companies and £ 9,000 on Fairfax, a bank that accepts payment in various currencies.
Already, despite the stealing millions from the business of fraud, Lewis also asked Sri Davis to lend £ 163,000 to help buying a house, but the money was eventually paid by his mother and brother.
In a victim influence statement, Mr. Davis said that Lewis’s crimes “affected the lives of countless people” and he also took money from a taxpayer.
Shri Davis said that a member of employees was unable to withdraw his pension despite working in the company for many years, as Lewis did not fund it correctly.
In a victim influence statement, former director Mark Kotar said that stress on him had stopped his GP for four to six weeks.
He said, “I forced to leave the company that I spent a lot in an attempt to make my life.”
“I am in mistrust that all this happened due to Jemma Lewis.”
For the defendant, Neil Corre said that she was in this position due to her gambling addiction.
She said that she gambled not to win, but to continue gambling, saying that she was now free from drug addiction for more than a year.
Mr. Kore said that she expects to use her experience to help others.
“She has lost her job, her house and she can lose her freedom, but her moral compass has been restored,” he said.
While sentenced to Lewis, Judge Daniel Williams said: “You are a gambler for years, because you were 18 years old and before a long time you were employed by James Davis.
“Your upbringing was privileged, but was also banging with trauma and sadness.”
