[A] MAN who stole cash while in acting charge of a South Cumbria joinery depot has been sentenced for a £16,000 theft.
Graham Wilcox, 33, was said to used a series of different methods to take money over many months while occupying senior roles at Howden’s in Kendal. He was assistant manager and then put in acting charge of the depot before being dismissed after his crime came to light.
Carlisle Crown Court heard that Wilcox was found to have raided petty cash, and had both duplicated and altered invoices before pocketing the difference. In total he accepted being responsible for 65 separate dishonest transactions between June 2015 and April last year.
He pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced at the crown court today (FRI) when it emerged that at the time he had a “crippling and completely unsustainable addiction to gambling”.
After hearing mitigation and details about Wilcox’s family circumstances, Recorder John Corless suspended a 12-month prison sentence for two years. Wilcox, of Lightburn Road, Ulverston, was also ordered to complete 300 hours’ unpaid work and made subject to a compensation order.
