[A] MAN who stole more than £27,000 while working at a Cumbrian motorway services has been spared immediate prison.
Charles Jack Riley, 29, was a trusted cash administrator whose job had been to record takings at Roadchef’s Killington Lake site off the M6 southbound in South Cumbria.
But between June, 2015, and August the following year, Riley helped himself to £27,618 in McDonald’s restaurant money at the services.
Carlisle Crown Court heard how he took up to £100 a time for many months before his criminal conduct was detected. An investigation showed he inflated credit and debit card payment figures which he manually entered into a computer accounting system while pocketing the difference in cash.
Riley admitted one charge of theft, and was sentenced today (MON). The court heard he was sorry for illegal activity which became a “habit” amid personal issues which included “alcohol consumption, gambling and poor financial management”.
Riley, of Bridgeside, Carnforth, was keen to repay the money using home equity.
He was handed a 12-month prison term which was suspended for 18 months by Recorder Andrew Jefferies QC.
Riley was also ordered to complete a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement, and pay back the money in full within three months.
