A SCOTS thief has narrowly avoided prison after being found guilty of embezzling over £2,000 from a local charity in Perthshire.
Gary Moore was found guilty by Perth Sheriff Court of making the dodgy transactions between 10 January 2022 and 10 February 2022.
The 42-year-old youth worker from Dundee pled guilty this week to using a credit card that linked up to the Children and Youth Activity Group charity in order to steal £2,050.
The court heard that Moore had begun consistently phoning in sick to his workplace, with suspicions later arising after substantial sums of money were withdrawn from local ATMs.
He was also found to have stolen a PlayStation 4 from the charity’s headquarters in Coupar Angus Town Hall, later reselling it for £150.
Moore’s own Lawyer Doug McConnell claimed that his client’s actions were a direct result of a gambling and alcohol addiction and that Moore had since raised £1,000 to reimburse the charity.
He stated: “The background here is that there was a gambling addiction and an alcohol addiction. His plan had been to take out the money […] and to pay it back.”
McConnell added that the embezzlement was “obviously not the most sophisticated operation. He was always going to get caught.”
Procurator Fiscal Depute Duncan McKenzie said of Moore: “He was issued with a debit card to buy essentials for the organisation, such as electrical equipment, food or drink.
“The charity would usually spend about £20 or £50 at a time. The accused was contacted by email.
“He replied that there was no need to worry, and he would provide receipts for every purchase.”
Despite the crime, Moore was ruled to have shown remorse for his actions, with Sheriff Paul Brown sentencing Moore to 200 hours of unpaid work.
Brown added that Moore should reimburse the charity for the embezzled funds.
Brown declared in his decision: “This is a direct alternative to custody.
“If you breach this, you will be brought back to court before me and I’ll be looking at a period of imprisonment.”
