Saini, 33, was facing serious mental health problems, which have apparently led to his gambling addiction.
Siphoning Money to Fuel Gambling
A worker from Vision Express’ head office at Ruddington Fields Business Park in Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, was reported stealing over £75,000 (approximately US$91,535) to allegedly fuel their gambling addiction. The worker was named Ravinder Saini, of Nottingham, aged 33, he defrauded Vision Express by abusing his position as a store development administrator, which involved working with invoices and payments to essential suppliers.
The Mirror reported that Saini would ask for refunds from these suppliers but would give them his own payment details, instead of the company’s. He would still use letterheaded paper, however, the bank details were his own. According to reports, this was done on 14 occasions, with his account being used on 12 of those, meaning there was someone else involved as well. The period in which the fraudulent acts occurred was between March 2017 and December 2018.
The pair’s syphoning efforts were uncovered after colleagues had started chasing the suppliers in question for the refunds. However, upon receiving answers that the payments were already made, it started becoming apparent that there was something foul going on. It didn’t take long to find the refund documents and identify that the bank details didn’t belong to the company.
Both reports from The Mirror, as well as Nottingham Post, contained the same total sum of £82,552 that was representing the benefits received by Saini and the co-accused. Saini was ordered to pay £300 to his former employer, while the unnamed co-accused was ordered a £290 compensation.
Mounting Mental Health Problems
Nottingham Post’s online edition – Nottinghamshire Live – reported that Saini was said to have a previous conviction for theft when he was 19. It was also outlined that he was apparently suffering from deteriorated mental health, along with excessive drinking. In 2016 and 2017, Saini was also reportedly suffering from auditory hallucinations. The reports cited Stephen Tettey, mitigating, who stated that his condition has triggered Saini’s gambling.
With such strong personal mitigation, padded with NHS communication that showed Saini was indeed trying to recover and was indeed experiencing mental health problems, as well as admitting guilt early, it was decided that his crime was borne out of bad health, and not greed. As such, the court has decided on a two-year prison sentence, with a two-year suspension and a six-month curfew.
However, part of the decision-making process was also the fact that Saini was already trying to get help, and the NHS is continually expanding its network to offer it to those suffering from gambling addiction. The NHS has considerably upped its game this year, but Saini has been a victim of his compulsive behavior for years and is just another example of how much people in the UK need the much-delayed gambling reforms in the country.