An Applegreen site manager who stole more than £12,000 by cashing in fake winning scratchcards has been sentenced to 17 months in prison, suspended for 21 months.
Emma Grimes was a site manager at Applegreen in Ely, between August 2019 and October 2020. During this time, she paid herself £12,370 in fake scratchcard winnings.
The discovery was made when the regional manager was investigating financial discrepancies at the station. Grimes initially denied any wrongdoing and claimed it must have been another employee. However, evidence showed the pay outs were only made when she was on shift and were made using her till login details.
Grimes pleaded guilty to theft by employee and was sentenced yesterday (April 23) at Cambridge Crown Court. As well as being handed the suspended sentence, she was told to complete 20 days rehabilitation activity requirement, 100 hours unpaid work and pay £2,400 compensation.
DC Lucy Holderness said: “It’s clear that over time Grimes became more brazen about stealing from her employer.
“While scratchcards may be a lottery, altering the books and staging wins for yourself will ultimately land you in front of a judge.”
