Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2006

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U.K. gambler who stole £1 million gets jail time

By Sarah Polson

Bryan Benjafield, who stole more than £1 million from his employer to pay for his online gambling debts, has received a five year jail sentence. The 23-year-old bookkeeper will serve half the time in jail and the remainder on parole in the community.

Benjafield stole the money while working in the Charminster Ltd. payroll department. He transferred money from the Dorchester construction company into his accounts electronically, through cash withdrawals, and by writing checks to himself for almost two years.

As a bookkeeper, Benjafield was earning £16,000 per year, but he was spending as much as £17,000 a day on Internet poker games, online casinos, sports bets and more. He stole £1,047,550 to cover those gambling bets and lost the entire sum.

Because of Benjafield's theft, the company ended up £742,242 in debt and was forced to lay off three staff members.

For more information on this story, please read "Online poker player steals £1 million from employers."

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