A SHOP worker who made £5,000 by falsifying lottery claims has been ordered to pay the money back.
Cerise Anne Scott, 20, racked up the sum over six months while working at Plas Madoc post office, Wrexham Magistrates’ Court heard.
Scott, of Hill Street, Rhos, pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud by falsifying the ringing-through of lottery prize money for her own gain between March 5 and August 20.
Rob Blakemore, prosecuting, said on August 19 the manager noticed discrepancies when cashing up the till takings, and found what was supposed to be paid out in lottery money was substantially less than what had actually been paid on the till that Scott had been operating that day.
When a lottery claim is made, Mr Blakemore explained, a lottery machine prints out a pink receipt, which is exchanged for money from the till.
A second receipt from the till says how much money has gone out and the two receipts should be kept together.
When Scott was challenged, she said she could not remember or explain what had happened.
The manager then found two more discrepancies on August 20, at which point Scott was suspended without pay.
As each member of staff has a unique till number, the manager was able to bring up a history of Scott’s transactions.
It was discovered that she had taken a total of £5,000 over 62 shifts.
When Scott was shown the full amount, she became very upset and said she was finding it hard to meet the costs of day-to-day living alongside going to college, said Mr Blakemore.
She said her then-boyfriend had bought her a car and she was finding it hard to pay back the £300 he had spent and now wanted back.
She said she could not bring herself to just take money from the till but admitted the fraud, saying she was surprised when her activities were not picked up on and so had just carried on.
Amy Phoenix, defending, said Scott had struggled since leaving her family home in March.
She had no previous record of getting in trouble with the law.
Magistrates sentenced Scott to a six-month community order, including 180 hours’ unpaid work, and a requirement to complete a financial workbook programme to help with managing money.
She was ordered to pay back the money by deduction from benefits.