An Aberdeen man has been handed unpaid work after embezzling thousands of pounds from his employers to pay off debts to payday loan firms.
Justin Christie appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court for sentencing having previously pled guilty over the matter.
The 21-year-old, who was employed as a manager at the Sainsbury’s Local on George Street, Aberdeen, at the time, admitted embezzling £7,000 from the store on January 27.
Sheriff Mark Stewart asked Christie, who appeared without a solicitor and declined the chance to speak to one, if he had read the social work report prepared for the court and wished to add anything.
Christie, whose address was given as Cattofield Place, Aberdeen, replied: “I think everything was captured in the report.”
Sheriff Stewart said: “In my assessment of this case you have made a catastrophic error which you immediately recognised was brought about by being under a degree of stress.
“A large sum of money was taken but it seems to me there’s no reasonable prospect of you being in a position to repay that money.
“This is not a course of conduct which is acceptable.”
He ordered Christie to carry out 175 hours of unpaid work and be supervised for 12 months.
Fiscal depute Callum Thomson previously told the court: “The store manager at Sainsbury’s was made aware by email from the accounting team that there were discrepancies between amounts entered in the store’s computer system and the amounts received by the bank.
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“The manager engaged in email correspondence with the accounting team to find the date when the money disappeared.”
CCTV was reviewed for January 27 which showed Christie at the store counting cash.
Mr Thomson added: “The accused was observed to take a number of bundles of bank notes out of the camera’s view towards a corner of the office where jackets were normally hung up.”
When confronted by the store manager, he said Christie “immediately admitted to stealing £7,000 from the store to repay debts he had with payday loan companies” and police were contacted.
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