But 33-year-old Joshua Oliver will pay off what he stole for the next 10 years.
Bradford Crown Court heard how Oliver carried out a systematic scam in almost two years at the Halifax branch of Alliance Automotive Group using the login details of his unconscious father, who was the branch manager.
Oliver used cash to fund online gambling addiction and paid for alcohol and food shopping.
He later confessed that things had “go out of control” and that the deception and fraud “had become addicted in and of itself.”
Prosecutor Philip Adams said Oliver, of Grove Crescent in Halifax, was hired at a depot, which was bought by Alliance Automotive, who took over the family business from his father.
Oliver carried out the scam between October 2021 and August 2023. At that time, the company was concerned about an unusually high percentage of exhausts that failed products were not returned to the supplier, but the company still got a rebate.
In the investigation, a senior manager initially suspected Oliver's father, discovered that Oliver used his father's login details to access the system while his father was not at work.
The father was later given a written warning.
When he was challenged by the company, Oliver admitted his involvement. He creates an incorrect refund, uses his father's login to approve the transaction, and steals the corresponding cash amount from studying abroad.
He later told police that he used items such as batteries and exhaust, but could not be easily tracked as the parts were discarded and the company doesn't need to physically return it to the supplier to get a rebate. Ta.
Oliver pleaded guilty to fraud due to misrepresentation.
Mitigating, John Bottomley said Oliver had taken away money to fund his “very serious” gambling addiction.
He said he had mental health issues and dealt with them by self-medicating with alcohol and gambling.
He said Oliver had a good character from before, regretted it, and was supported by both the NHS and the gambling charity to deal with his problems.
Bottomley urged the court to suspend the prison sentence.
Miss Recorder Judy Dawson told Oliver that he had “a bit cleverly” resolved the way to “substantially plunder” the company by circumventing the security system.
She described his violation as “a major abuse of both your father and the company's position of trust and responsibility.”
“The activity has lasted for almost two years and it is clear that if it had not been discovered it would have been ongoing.
“This activity was not a series of impulsive decisions.”
Working on the progress Oliver made in addressing the issue, Dawson said it was “just possible” to suspend the incarceration sentence, and suspended for 18 months for 14 months.
She pays off the 15,000 pounds he took at the rate of 120 a month, performs 300 hours of unpaid work and complies with a six-month curfew that runs from 7pm to 7am. I ordered it to do so.
