An online gambling addict has been ordered to repay almost £800,000 after defrauding her employers of more than £1.7 million.
Tracey Stevenson, 54, from Arlington Way, Thetford, Norfolk, was instructed to pay back £786,766.38 to refurbishment contractors Ecsec Ltd in Newmarket.
Stevenson had been found guilty of fraud at Cambridge Crown Court in July last year, but the same court had a confiscation proceeding on Friday, August 11 and determined that amount.
Stevenson had fraudulently diverted in excess of £1.7 million from the company's bank accounts, which she used to buy two houses in the UK and one in Spain, as well as fund an addiction to online gambling.
She committed these crimes between 2011 and 2016 and was given four years’ imprisonment.
Her criminal activity was uncovered after Ecsec Ltd suffered from cash flow problems in January and launched an investigation, which caused Stevenson to go on sick leave.
The account manager's lies were uncovered however, when her husband discovered a suicide note that confessed the crimes. He later told the company bosses.
As a result of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) Confiscation Order, it was directed at the court that the funds must be paid within three months - otherwise she will have to serve six years on top of her original sentence.
BY SAMAR MAGUIRE
Tracey Stevenson, 54, from Arlington Way, Thetford, Norfolk, was instructed to pay back £786,766.38 to refurbishment contractors Ecsec Ltd in Newmarket.
Stevenson had been found guilty of fraud at Cambridge Crown Court in July last year, but the same court had a confiscation proceeding on Friday, August 11 and determined that amount.
Stevenson had fraudulently diverted in excess of £1.7 million from the company's bank accounts, which she used to buy two houses in the UK and one in Spain, as well as fund an addiction to online gambling.
She committed these crimes between 2011 and 2016 and was given four years’ imprisonment.
Her criminal activity was uncovered after Ecsec Ltd suffered from cash flow problems in January and launched an investigation, which caused Stevenson to go on sick leave.
The account manager's lies were uncovered however, when her husband discovered a suicide note that confessed the crimes. He later told the company bosses.
As a result of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) Confiscation Order, it was directed at the court that the funds must be paid within three months - otherwise she will have to serve six years on top of her original sentence.
BY SAMAR MAGUIRE
