Woman fabricated scratch card wins

A woman who stole more than £12,000 by cashing in fake scratch cards winnings has been sentenced.

Emma Grimes, 41, was a site manager at Applegreen fuel station, in Ely, between August 2019 and October 2020.

In this time, it was discovered that she had paid herself £12,370 in fake scratch card winnings.

The discovery was made when the regional manager was investigating financial discrepancies at the station.

Grimes initially denied any wrongdoing and claimed it must have been another employee.

However, evidence showed the pay outs were only made when she was on shift and using her till login details.

Grimes, of Spalding Common, Spalding, pleaded guilty to theft by employee and was sentenced yesterday (23 April) at Cambridge Crown Court to 17 months in prison, suspended for 21 months.

She was also told to complete 20 days rehabilitation activity requirement, 100 hours unpaid work, and pay £2400 compensation.

DC Lucy Holderness said: “It’s clear that over time Grimes became more brazen about stealing from her employer.

“While scratch cards may be a lottery, altering the books and staging wins for yourself will ultimately land you in front of a judge.”