A Dublin woman who stole thousands of euros worth of scratch cards from her former employer has avoided jail.
The Circuit Criminal Court heard how Sandra McCann (57) stole €4,330 of National Lottery scratch cards from a brach of Daybreak until managers became suspicious after it was noticed that the “safe room”, which contains items such as cigarettes and and scratch cards.
The National Lottery also contacted the business after noticing a “significant increase in sale” of scratch cards from that location, before further investigations revealed that the “activations” did not match sale records.
After this the owner of the branch, a Mr. O’Dwyer, called McCann into a meeting to address the issue with her after she was seen on CCTV going in and out of the safe room.
McCann, of Newbury Drive, Clonshaugh, Dublin 17, came forward on a signed, with prosecuting counsel Oisín Clarke BL, telling the court that she won approximately €60 from one of the cards she had stolen.
When Judge Martin Nolan asked the investigating Garda, “What did she do with them?”, the court heard she would “scratch them”.
The court heard that the accused has no previous convictions, and that she told Gardaí that she took the scratch cards for her husband, who has since died, who had severe dementia and would react positively to them.
“This was a way of improving his mood,” which was “very difficult”, her defending counsel said.
Judge Nolan said that the accused “stole to give some comfort to her husband,” and that she “shouldn’t have done it,”.
He said that the appropriate sentence was 1 year in prison to be suspended on condition of good behaviour, and that she pay the sum of €1,000 within 9 months, and that she enter into a bond of €100.