That’s surreal. In Florida, the director of the state’s official gambling helpline was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison for stealing $1.4 million from his company to gamble.
Here’s how it happened: while working at a company, he abused his position to secretly make unauthorized charges on the company’s cards, then used the money to gamble.
An internal audit later uncovered a large number of suspicious transactions. He was arrested and fired. Before sentencing, he was released after posting $650,000 bail.
But he didn’t just sit around after that. He started trying to quit gambling and entered recovery. Before his case had even been sentenced, he got a job as the director of Florida’s official gambling-problem helpline. He took lots of calls and helped many people.
He even gave interviews about his own recovery, becoming a model success story.
But eventually, the other shoe dropped. Just a few days ago, a judge sentenced him to 118.5 months in prison and ordered him to pay restitution. Prosecutors said he was highly skilled in how he carried out the scheme: he hadn’t simply seized an opportunity on impulse, but had deliberately made unauthorized charges to get money to gamble. He’ll begin serving his sentence immediately.
Here’s how it happened: while working at a company, he abused his position to secretly make unauthorized charges on the company’s cards, then used the money to gamble.
An internal audit later uncovered a large number of suspicious transactions. He was arrested and fired. Before sentencing, he was released after posting $650,000 bail.
But he didn’t just sit around after that. He started trying to quit gambling and entered recovery. Before his case had even been sentenced, he got a job as the director of Florida’s official gambling-problem helpline. He took lots of calls and helped many people.
He even gave interviews about his own recovery, becoming a model success story.
But eventually, the other shoe dropped. Just a few days ago, a judge sentenced him to 118.5 months in prison and ordered him to pay restitution. Prosecutors said he was highly skilled in how he carried out the scheme: he hadn’t simply seized an opportunity on impulse, but had deliberately made unauthorized charges to get money to gamble. He’ll begin serving his sentence immediately.