Lady in England

I came across this story earlier today and wanted to post it in its entirety. The dollar amounts are in pounds which converts to $1.74 for every one pound so the amounts are almost double in United States Dollars. What is very impressive about this story is the quote from the judge; "Your gambling, on the scale it was, and with an incomprehensible disregard for the consequences, was in practical terms a disease." While this quote is impressive from the judge he also makes an error in stating "You are under house arrest for the next two years to ensure your disease can be cured,"

I have learned in Gamblers Anonymous that my disease of compulsive gambling cannot be cured it can only be arrested as long as I abstain from gambling and work the principles I have learned in the GA Program each and everyday of my life. This judge is certainly on the right path sentencing this lady to treatment as opposed to just punishing her and hopefully while attending the GA Program she will understand her disease much better and apply those principles in her daily affairs so she can live a positive productive life. Here is the story;

Web gambling addict stole £½m from bank

ACCOUNTS clerk Sharna Baker, from Goffs Oak, has avoided being jailed despite taking almost £½m from the Japanese bank where she worked to spend on her addiction to internet betting.

The Old Bailey heard how Baker, of Myles Court, blew £90,000 of her own money gambling on sports events before she began taking money from UFJ International - a subsidiary of the Mitsubishi corporation - in the City of London.

The £32,000 accounts payment officer had been given a password by senior bosses which allowed her to funnel money into five separate accounts she had set up.

Managers only discovered what was happening when Baker, who is now five months' pregnant, was made redundant.

She wept in the dock as the court heard that when the money was in her account, Baker would immediately make wagers of up to £10,000 on horse races and football matches.

But Judge Peter Beaumont allowed her to walk free with a suspended sentence telling her she had been a victim "of a disease".

Prosecutor John Elliott told the court that a month after her redundancy, the bank contacted Baker and she admitted taking £30,000. "In fact, she had stolen £460, 940.77," said Mr Elliott.

The money had been taken over five months in 127 transactions. She admitted nine specimen charges of obtaining money transfers by deception.

Julian Goose, defending, said Baker sold her flat, spent her savings and took out a £24,000 loan and ran up a £30,000 credit bill to pay for her gambling before she started taking money from the bank.

"She became quickly hooked. She didn't know how much she was spending. It was out of control. "This was not greed to improve her life, but an addiction to gambling," he said.

The judge said: "Your gambling, on the scale it was, and with an incomprehensible disregard for the consequences, was in practical terms a disease."

He passed a 51-week jail sentence suspended for two years, during which she will be electronically tagged and have to attend Gamblers Anonymous.

"You are under house arrest for the next two years to ensure your disease can be cured," the judge added.