A story in the Driffield Times caught my attention today where a 41 year old woman defrauded her workplace of tens of thousands of pounds.

Sandra Ann Preston is said to have transfered around £60,000 (however, the true figure is not yet known) directly into her account from a paypoint outlet at Preston Eling Ltd petrol station on Middle Street South, Driffield where she worked as a manageress between August and October 2007.

This would be equivalent to taking an average of £1,000 per day.

The prosecuter said: “She did it by transferring money from a PayPoint system to her own account to fund an online bingo addiction. I want to go through documents to make sure the figure is correct.”

However, Anil Murray, representing Preston said his client did not believe the total amount taken to be as high as the suggested figure of £62,722.99.

Preston originally pleaded guilty to the offence of “fraud by abuse of position” at Bridlington Magistrates Court at the beginning of April, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.