UK Man Steals Charity Money To Fund His Gambling Addiction

08:14
27 Feb

Gambling can be a fun and exciting way to sweat a football match or baseball game. However, when you need to steal money to fund your gambling habits, there is something very wrong with your gambling habits.

Manjinder Virdi, a 37 year old UK man, has been sentenced to three years in prison for stealing nearly $300,000 from a medical charity to fund his online gambling antics.

The Evening Standard reported that Virdi plead guilty in the Snaresbook Crown Court last week to fraud by abuse of position. The CEO of the UK based charity Princess Alice Hospice, Nigel Seymour, tweeted about Virdi’s dirty deeds.

Charity finance officer stole more than £200,000 from employer to fund gambling addiction: Manjinder Virdi was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to fraud by abuse of position https://t.co/9LeyKVKeen

— Nigel Seymour (@nrs3079) February 15, 2022

Virdi, a professional finance officer for the British Society of Echocardiography (BSE) stole the $278,000 beginning in September of 2017 and spanning about 20 months. His first position at the charity was as a financial administrator, but after rising the ranks and becoming a finance officer he was given access to BSE’s PayPal and bank accounts.

After illegally obtaining the funds, court documents reveal they were used at a number of online gambling platforms. Those working close to the case assessed Virdi and found he suffers from depression and a gambling disorder.

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The Law Catches Up

Gavin Markey, a detective constable for the Central East Command Unit CID said in a statement that, “in one series of transactions between October and November 2018, he took just over £85,000” ($115,000). Furthermore, from February to May 2019, Virdi siphoned more than £53,000 ($78,000).

In May 2019, the scam caught up to Virdi. The bank account of the charity sent an email to one of Virdi’s co-workers alerting the charity that there was potentially fraud occurring. As the finance officer for the non-profit, the email was forwarded to Virdi.

Virdi then claimed he had followed up with the bank, and warned his colleagues that it was probably a scam and it should be ignored. He was asked to follow up a second time, to which Virdi claimed that there may have been fraud occurring and he was waiting for the bank to get back to him on the situation.

However, Professor Martin Stout, the vice president for BSE, knew something was amiss, and he himself contacted the bank. He found that a number of fraudulent payments were sent to Virdi’s account. Stout contacted the police and an arrest was made at the BSE building on May 22.

Virdi was questioned and eventually released, but was still under investigation. London police uncovered Virdi’s bank activity, and found that large sums of money were used to gamble online.

“Virdi was entrusted to manage and protect the company’s finances and he completely abused his position and the confidence placed in him, almost as if he expected to get away with it,” Detective Markey said. “Virdi tried to play his colleagues for fools when they were initially contacted by the bank but they knew something was not adding up and their suspicions were confirmed.”

There is currently an investigation attempting to get some of the funds back. If you have, or think you have a gambling problem, seek out the proper help.