Financial director swindled own firm to feed £1.5M gambling addiction
Senior executive, Lauren Farr, defrauded the company she worked for over £800,000 to feed her addiction to online gambling
While serving as a senior executive, mother-of-two Lauren Farr conned Cwmbran company We Fight Any Claim for more than three years, swindling over £800,000 to feed her gambling addiction. Cardiff Crown Court discovered the Financial Director gambled roughly £1.5 million via online betting providers such as Betfred and Paddy Power.fjdsd Cr
Farr found a loop hole by using her knowledge as an accountant to hide the withdrawals from the company account into her personal account. This was done via false invoices.
After her bosses noticed suspicious activity across their payments and confronted Farr, she admitted ‘It was me’.
The prosecuting officer, Alexander Greenwood, explained:
She claimed she had taken the money because she was an alcoholic and had a crazy gambling problem.’
She confirmed she would fabricate and falsify invoices from company suppliers. She would transfer the invoiced amounts from the company bank account into her own bank account.
Ieuan Bennett, defending, said:
The defendant became addicted to gambling and there must have been some deep-rooted unhappiness in her life [that] had some sort of therapeutic impact upon her,
She was, for many months, gambling quite considerable sums, relatively secretly at home.
Additionally, it was discovered that Farr had bought a BMW X5 car and funded her family vacations with the money.
The Court later found her guilty and was sentenced to 32 months in jail. Describing it as a “sophisticated and well concealed fraud” according to Judge Neil Bidder.
Source: Belfast Telegraph
About SiGMA College:
The iGaming industry is growing and expanding at a staggering rate. People who entered the market 10 years ago might find themselves lacking in certain areas of knowledge today, that’s why SiGMA College is offering a diploma in gaming! This is an introductory online course, which will be offered completely free of charge to a global audience, and will be aimed at people looking to diversify their knowledge or at people looking to enter the industry for the first time. Should you have any questions or queries, please do me hesitate to contact Emily Micallef.
