A WOMAN had an “Aladdin’s Cave” filled with more than £21,000 of goods she bought from a shopping channel using money she stole from a Hampshire supermarket.
Sandra Norris was told prison was the only option after she stole and defrauded Asda of more than £100,000 by altering shopping vouchers and helping herself to the cash.
The cash office worker, who has worked at the Totton store for 20 years, was changing the value of store vouchers used by customers to pay for their shopping. Sometimes she would double their value and take the difference in cash, Southampton Crown Court heard.
When police raided the 58-year-old’s home in Sutton Road, Totton, they found £79,711 of store vouchers and more than £6,600 in cash.
Officers described the inside of her home as “an Aladdin’s Cave” filled with piles of unopened goods including perfume, alcohol, jewellery and unworn clothes still with tags on, which she had bought from TV shopping channel QVC.
The court was told Norris was of previous good character and she had got involved in “a relatively uncomplicated fraud” because she felt sorry for a colleague.
Jailing Norris, Judge Peter Henry said it had been “a significant and lengthy breach of trust”.
He said: “It is always particularly sad to see a woman, particularly of your age and who has never been in trouble before, come to court on such a serious charge. You had a position of responsibility. Quite why you did it is difficult to understand.”
Norris, who admitted one charge of theft of £700 and one charge of committing fraud by abusing her position, was given 28 months and a separate sentence to run concurrently of 12 months.
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