Council worker embezzled cash to fund online gambling habit

COURT: Dundee woman stole more than £4,800 during seven-year period

A council worker embezzled thousands of pounds from a council’s criminal justice department to fund her online gambling habit.

Agnes Beat swindled money from Dundee City Council’s criminal justice social work department and a local authority-run bail hostel over the course of almost seven years.

Beat had control of budgets and petty cash within the department and “intimidated” other workers into signing forms that allowed her to carry out her fraud.

Dundee Sheriff Court was told yesterday that on dozens of occasions she put in petty cash claims to council chiefs for departmental cars to be valeted at a cost of £50 to £80 a time.

Her lawyer said she had used the cash to fund an online gambling habit that formed after her mother died.

Depute fiscal Saima Rasheed said that, in reality, only two cars had ever been cleaned by the company she claimed was doing the work – and that in fact the authority’s motors were dealt with in-house by a member of staff.

She said: “Due to discrepancies in the finances and allegations about her conduct an investigation was launched into her accounting practices. During this period she had colleagues sign blank forms and acted in an intimidating manner to get them to do so.

“She would then sign them as an authorised person and put them in to be reimbursed saying they’d been used for car valeting.

“No receipts were attached and it was later found there was no regular valeting carried out by the firm she claimed was used. “Only two were ever done. “Later another receipt was found for a camera which a colleague signed as she felt intimidated by the accused.

“That was for £89.98 and no camera was ever found to have been purchased with this money.”

Beat, 58, of Tay Street, Dundee, pleaded guilty to a charge of embezzlement committed between April 5 2005 and January 31 2012.

She had originally been charged with scamming £42,915.54.

But prosecutors accepted she had stolen the reduced amount of £4,831.98

Theo Finlay, defending, said: “After her mother died she took a turn for the worse and gambling appears to have been the catalyst for this.

“She’s clearly showing remorse and insight into the effects of her offending.

“This was a serious matter but she has no previous convictions and there has been a significant reduction in the charge she faces. “It was a significant breach of trust.” Sheriff Alastair Carmichael imposed a community payback order with 210 hours of unpaid work and two years’ supervision.

Agnes Beat arrives at Dundee Sheriff Court.