Gambling monopoly assists in undercovering store fraud

News on 15 Aug 2011

The Swedish regional newspaper Sydsvenskan reported on an unusual collaboration which has enabled a local store owner to identify which member of his staff had been plundering the company coffers to splurge on a one year gambling spree.
When the Vellinge, Sweden store owner discovered that hundreds of thousands of kronor were missing from his books, he suspected that the person responsible was a 30-year-old clerk and approached the state gambling monopoly, Svenska Spel for assistance in confirming his fears.
The gambling company was able to track the clerk’s activity, which included SEK418,400 wagered over a year of gambling in which SEK300,000 had been won and retained by the clerk.
Svenska Spel experts said that the woman had an unusual and distinctive gambling pattern that virtually guaranteed personal profit…if the player was not using her own money.
The matter was referred to the police, who questioned the clerk on how she was able, on a salary of SEK8,000 a month, to wager such significant amounts. She denied stealing the money, but admitted to gambling using funds she claims were given to her by her mother.
She currently faces prosecution in a local court, where she will have to explain in detail how she paid for her gambling adventures.

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