Scots supermarket worker who conned National Lottery out of £50k jailed

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A Scots supermarket worker who conned the National Lottery out of nearly £50,000 has been jailed for seven months.

Melanie Davies admitted exploiting a glitch in the system to steal £47,000 in under a year while she was working as a till cashier at a branch of Asda.

Sheriff Gregor Murray said he had no alternative but to send Davies to prison because her crime had eroded the public's trust in the National Lottery.

At Dundee Sheriff Court, he said: "Members of the public are entitled in relation to the National Lottery to have confidence in the way it operates.

"They are entitled to know the sums they provide to the National Lottery benefit charities and other benevolent organisations.

"The actions you took strike right at the heart of all of that. There can be no alternative to a custodial sentence in the circumstances."

Davies managed to obtain the cash after inflating the number on winning tickets and scratchcards while the monitoring system was faulty.

Davies, who worked at the supermarket's Milton of Craigie branch in Dundee, was caught after lottery operator Camelot noticed a £10,000 discrepancy once the system returned to normal almost a year later.

The 35-year-old [28-11-88], who has no previous convictions, pled guilty to the £47,000 fraud between 23 August 2022 and 12 July 2023.

The court was told [MON] that cash spent in-store on playing the lottery was managed separately from the day-to-day money at Asda.

Staff at the lottery and gaming counter made payouts and detailed the readings of the total cash which had been paid out at the end of each day.

Fiscal depute Lora Apostolova told the court: "The staff are tasked with presenting the totals of the payouts to Camelot.

"However, there was a technical glitch which resulted in a loss of visibility between Camelot and the store. Access was restored and a discrepancy of £10,000 appeared. Thereafter, daily receipts were requested and submitted to the cash office in hard copy.

"They were prepared by the Asda lottery kiosk and Camelot began to notice a variance in figures from the store when they were comparing it to Camelot."

Ms Apostolova said Davies was identified as the person who was working on the counter at the times when the discrepancies were uncovered.

The court heard Davies, of Scott Street in Brechin, would place paper amounts into the bin, declare false amounts and pocket the excess cash.

Solicitor Gary McIlravey, defending, said his client was paying £20 per month to Asda with an agreement in place to pay back more cash once she obtained full-time employment from her college qualification next year.

He said: "I have explained that given the quantum of monies involved, my Lord has to consider a custodial sentence.

"What the report reflects was that she was going through a particularly difficult period. She has provided me with a number of character references.

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"She has undertaken substantial work herself to address a clear, underlying issue. She knows the matter is not over and will hang over her head for a period of time."

Davies had previously appeared on petition but the charge was reduced to summary procedure which carries a maximum prison sentence of 12 months.

Sheriff Murray added: "I take account of the very significant steps you have taken and the background so, exceptionally, I assess the headline sentence as 10 months restricted to seven months."

Davies admitted a reduced figure in the charge after the Crown accepted her guilty plea to taking £47,000. She had initially been accused of taking over £52,000.

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