Accountant Embezzled 5.4 Million to Finance Blackjack Gambling Sprees
Blackjack Thief
A 57 year old New Zealand accountant plead guilty to stealing more than 5.4 million dollars over a ten year period from his employers and life long friends to spend on high stakes blackjack.
A 57 year old Auckland, New Zealand accountant executive pled guilty to two charges of grand theft for embezzling $5.4 million over ten years from a family-owned business group, who considered him ‘a part of the family’. The chief financial controller, who enjoyed a $300,000 yearly salary as well as $50,000 bonuses, gambled the stolen money as well as his salary over the past 10 years at SkyCity casino’s VIP high-roller blackjack card games.
The man, whose name has been withheld by court order until next month’s sentencing, had complete control of the company’s finances and was able to shuffle the company money between different accounts to cover his tracks prior to transferring the money to himself. Over 150 transfers were discovers, some as large as $100,000. According to casino gambling news, the CEO and best friend of the thief testified that “he worked for my grandfather and father for 30 years. It was like a death in the family when we found out. Especially for my father and uncle who treated him like a brother. It hit them hard.”
The theft was uncovered when an audit was ordered to discover the reasons behind the company’s lack of capital. The defendant admitted that he and his wife gambled away millions of dollars at the posh SkyCity casino, primarily on table and online blackjack. Some of the stolen money was spend on an extravagant lifestyle worthy of a heir playboy and not a corporate officer. The defendant also admitted to living a double life – by day a nerdy respectable corporate officer and by night a high stakes casino blackjack ‘whale’.
The defendant’s former friend lamented that “we heard he had a big win of $180,000 years ago and took business contacts to the high roller club. We didn’t really question it at the time but in hindsight everything is clear.” The defendant was forced to sell 5 properties and other assets to begin making restitution payments which will amount to a tiny fraction of the overall theft. SkyCity casino had no comment regarding the matter.
could’ve sent me some
If you have access to 5.4 million, why do you need to gamble?
I think he stole it over many years not in a lump sum.
The person sitting next to you in church, the man in line at the grocery store, or one of your co-workers; any one of these could be involved with a gambling problem. Imagine your grandmother committing a crime to support her gambling addiction. I am a recovering alcoholic, gambler, and have recovered from other addictive behaviors. I published a book, Gripped by Gambling, where the readers can follow the destructive path of the compulsive gambler, a prison sentence, and then on to the recovery road.
I recently published a second book, Switching Addictions, describing additional issues that confront the recovering addict. These are two books you might consider adding to your library. I also publish a free online newsletter, Women Helping Women, which has been on-line for more than ten years and is read by hundreds of women (and men) from around the world. (www.femalegamblers.info). I recently was interviewed by CBS for a 60 MInute show on gambling.
Sincerely,
Marilyn Lancelot
could’ve sent me some
If you have access to 5.4 million, why do you need to gamble?
I think he stole it over many years not in a lump sum.
The person sitting next to you in church, the man in line at the grocery store, or one of your co-workers; any one of these could be involved with a gambling problem. Imagine your grandmother committing a crime to support her gambling addiction. I am a recovering alcoholic, gambler, and have recovered from other addictive behaviors. I published a book, Gripped by Gambling, where the readers can follow the destructive path of the compulsive gambler, a prison sentence, and then on to the recovery road.
I recently published a second book, Switching Addictions, describing additional issues that confront the recovering addict. These are two books you might consider adding to your library. I also publish a free online newsletter, Women Helping Women, which has been on-line for more than ten years and is read by hundreds of women (and men) from around the world. (www.femalegamblers.info). I recently was interviewed by CBS for a 60 MInute show on gambling.
Sincerely,
Marilyn Lancelot