A Family Nursing & Home Care employee who stole more than £3,600 from the charity after falling into gambling debt wept as she was jailed for six months yesterday.
The Magistrate’s Court was told on Friday that Jeanette Hotton (60), who pleaded guilty to larceny, had initially planned to pay the money back when she began transferring money to herself from the charity’s PayPal account.
The thefts continued over a period of nine months, Legal adviser Harrison Gollop explained, and only came to light in March when another staff member noticed there was money missing from the charity’s bank account.
Advocate Julia-Anne Dix, defending, said Hotton had then admitted during a police interview that she had taken the money.
“It is clear this is not a case where she was living a lavish lifestyle,” the advocate added. “She was using the money that she was taking from her employer for normal day-to-day expenses.”
This was the result of a “downfall into online gambling”, she said.
Hotton had felt “lonely” in the evenings and joined an online games site at a friend’s suggestion, she said.
Pop-up ads continued to lure her back into gambling.
“They try to lure in the most vulnerable,” Advocate Dix said.
“It is unfortunate that Mrs Hotton did become hooked on these websites. She ended up in significant debt.”
This was when she decided to take the charity’s money, with the intention of paying them back.
“She has a profound sense of shame at her decisions,” she added.
Hotton was in custody until her sentencing and her advocate said custody had been “a sharp shock to her”.
“She knows that she has to be punished for her actions.”
Assistant Magistrate Adam Clarke, presiding, told Hotton her position meant the charity had demanded “integrity and trust” from her and that she could only have avoided jail in “exceptional” circumstances.
Hotton has repaid the full amount to the charity.
