Charity Treasurer Stole 25k After Becoming Addicted To Facebook Games
A historic village institute was robbed of just under £25,000 after the charity's former treasurer was found to have siphoned the money for herself over four years. Barbara Dearnley, 62, spent the money to pay off debts, go on shopping sprees and, most shockingly, fuel her addiction for pay-to-play Facebook games.
Between July 2011 and May 2015, Dearnley used her position as bookkeeper at the Victoria Institute at Caton near Lancaster to swindle the funds and feed her quest for high-scores and secret levels on the Facebook games. In one particular game alone, the woman spent £4,400 on 'crystals'. Her devious doings were discovered after Dearnley left her position as treasurer and replacement volunteers carried out financial audits. After they discovered the anomalies, the auditors called the police.
Dearnley came before Preston Crown Court and, after being convicted of theft and false accounting, was sentenced to a whopping 27 MONTHS in jail. That's a big price to pay for Candy Crush.
Detective Constable Stephen Dixon, of Lancaster Police, added: 'Barbara Dearnley fully admitted stealing the money when she spoke to officers. Dearnley has shown no remorse during the investigation. She fails to grasp the impact of what she has done and the effect this has on the charity and its members. The institute is an important community sentence and fortunately Dearnley was unable to appropriate money donated by the local community."
In-app games on Facebook are a real money-spinner. Added game-play extras such as unlockable levels as well as cheats and hints can entice players to part with a considerable sum of cash just to advance further in their favourite games. It seems incredulous after so many in-app mishap stories when it comes to these games that a grown woman could become so addicted that she would delve to such depths.
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Charity Treasurer Stole 25k After Becoming Addicted To Facebook Games
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Monday, December 21, 2015
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Monday, December 21, 2015
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