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Chef From Scotland Stole £12 Thousand From Charity to Finance Gambling Problem

Written by, Toni Maglovski

Updated August, 30, 2021

A 37-year-old chef from Scotland, Moira Coughlin, swept under the rug missing cash from the Tayberry Enterprises charity for several months. She confessed to stealing more than £12 thousand to finance her gambling problem. While working at the charity in Dundee, Moira was entrusted with bank payment transfers and wages.

This Monday at the Dundee Sheriff court, she confirmed that she had been pocketing £12,100 from Tayberry Enterprises from 1 December 2017 and 11 May 2018. Emily Hood, the fiscal deputy, reported to the court that Coughlin was working for the charity in October 2017 and was responsible for the bank transfer payments and employee wages. She also told the court that an employee witnessed that wages were not transferred into their bank account but didn’t mention anything at that time. However, in February 2018, the witness noted that the money still wasn’t transferred to their bank account and told the accused chef to do the transfer. Moira pointed out that she couldn’t transfer the money because a junior staff member had a breakdown. This continued up in March, but the accused still didn’t make the money transfer even after talking to her to do so. 

Moira kept telling the charity up until May 2018 that the money was in the safe and that she would make the transfer as soon as possible. Later, the accused sent a message to another staff member admitting that she embezzled the money due to her gambling problem. Gambling addiction is a serious issue, adversely affecting 5 million British adults. She was immediately arrested and called by the court for this embezzlement case.

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