Mother took £73k from employer and blew it on betting

A divorced mother who blew over £62,000 in eight months on internet gambling after stealing the cash from the Black Country firm where she worked was today starting a 13 month jail sentence for her crime.

Michelle Oliver took almost £69,000 from CVT Vehicle Services in Moor Street, Brierley Hill, which employed her as an £18,000-a-year accounts manager, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard yesterday. Almost all of the stolen cash was chanelled into her Sky BET account.

The money was lost on casino gambling, said prosecutor Rydian James.

The 44-year-old thief also used a further £4,000 to bet online with bookmaker William Hill.

The scam was spotted after customs officers told CVT it owed four months of PAYE tax payments for their employees totalling £16,000 in May last year.

Oliver was the person who should have ensured the bill was settled and so lost her job. Inquiries then quickly revealed the firm owed £14,000 VAT and suppliers had not been paid as they should, continued Mr James.

Examination of the books disclosed Oliver had stolen £68,903 from CVT Vehicle Services between September 2010 and May 2011.

This prompted checks of the accounts of PWC Access in Stirchley, Birmingham – where she had previously worked – that showed £5,000 had been stolen from them by her in July 2010 before she switched jobs.

The Sky BET account opened by Oliver in November 2010 showed a loss of £62,378 the following July, despite having £64,000 paid into it by her, the court was told.

Her three children are grown up with the youngest being 19 years old. Oliver from New Street, Wall Heath admitted stealing a total of £73,000 from the two firms and was jailed.