In less than 2 years Bryan Benjafield had stolen over £1 million from his company's bank account in order to feed his online gambling addiction
Benjafield, who's work as a book-keeper gave him access to the money which he withdrew via electronic transfer and withdrawals. The company, Charminster Limited, has since gone into administration and has had to make redundancies.
The 23-yr old pled guilty to 2 charges of theft and handling a cash transfer of almost half a million pounds. He would spend all the money gambling online at Ladbrokes and Sky Bet with sums of up to £17,000 at a time.
Det Con Paul carpenter, the officer in the case, said outside court that Benjafield was caught after a VAT bill went unpaid because there were insufficient funds in the company account.
Bosses investigated and discovered more than £400,000 was missing before they contacted Dorset Police.
Article: Online gambling addict stole £1m
Sadie Rizzo, prosecuting, said: “Benjafield, who admitted to police that he had a gambling addiction, spent all of the money online gambling through Ladbrokes and Skybet, and now has no money left in his account with them. “Benjafield betrayed his employers who had known him since he was 17 years old. He was their first employee and had worked for the company since 2003 as a book-keeper.
People with gambling problems sometimes do need help. But I do see where this guy is coming from.