A gambling addict employed by a marketing company was jailed on Friday after being found guilty of diverting players’ money to his accounts.

Tobias Stuvel, a 31-year-old German national engaged as a customer service agent with a local branding and marketing firm in 2017, was investigated by police after his superiors suspected foul play in 2018.

It all started when one of their clients, a UK-based company offering lottery and gaming products, informed them that one of its customers had reported he did not receive the funds he had requested to be withdrawn.

That report triggered internal checks by the local company which pointed to the accused, one of four employees involved in carrying out the necessary verification process to effect payments. 

It turned out that the accused had devised a scheme to alter player bank data to divert funds into his own bank accounts.

A transactions list showed that the accused had allegedly defrauded 29 customers over a span of five months out of a total of €39,015.39, most of which was spent on daily purchases and rent.

But the lion’s share was channelled to an online casino where the accused spent hundreds and later thousands of euros daily.

His employer ended up being sued by a foreign client for compensation. 

The accused was charged with misappropriation, fraud as well as money laundering, subsequently admitting to the fraud but denying that he had laundered the funds.

Accused splurged money on online casinos

Upon the evidence put forward, the court, presided over by magistrate Rachel Montebello, observed that this was a “mise-en-scene par excellence” whereby the accused had designed a system to cheat the company’s verification process. 

He then “splurged” the illegal profits at online casinos, causing prejudice to his employer and clients.

When testifying, the man admitted that he “felt relieved” when he was arrested as he knew that that would put an end to the gambling addiction which had taken control over his life and which he had failed to address. 

Although the accused denied laundering money, the court pointed out that since he spent the funds derived from his crimes, the monies were integrated and circulated into the economic system thus obscuring their illegal source. 

Despite the thousands channelled into his bank account, the balance stood at “a mere €192.28” when he was taken into custody, observed the court. 

When meting out punishment the court took note of the accused’s “completely clean conviction sheet,” his full cooperation with investigators, his apology for his wrongdoing and commitment to reimburse the company as well as his desire to return to his homeland. 

Moreover, he never requested bail after his arraignment, spending three years five months in preventive custody which was far more than the term of punishment deemed adequate by the court. 

On the other hand, the court could not ignore the enormous loss suffered by the company. 

In light of all considerations, the court condemned the accused to a 28-month term of effective imprisonment, less the time spent under preventive custody, whilst ordering him to reimburse the €40,000 within 18 months. 

Inspectors Rennie Stivala and Colin Sheldon prosecuted.