A whisky auction house worker stole 45 rare bottles worth nearly £25,000 and duped friends and family into helping him sell them online to fund his gambling debts.
Andrew Grant conned relatives into believing he was entitled to buy the collectible whisky bottles at a huge discount from his work and sell them on for profit.
However, he was simply stealing some of the most valuable bottles from his employer as he knew they worth hundreds or thousands of pounds each to collectors.
Grant knew the bottles were not being tracked by Whisky Auctioneer Ltd as he was the Perth-based company’s employee responsible for failing to put the tracking system in place.
Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC said: “You breached the trust of your employer by stealing goods of very high value from them. You knew they did not have a process in place to track the whisky because it was part of your role.
“You then formed a scheme to get your family and friends involved in selling for you to fund your gambling addiction. I know you are rightly devastated and ashamed of your behaviour.”
Solicitor Doug McConnell, defending, told Perth Sheriff Court: “The background to this offence is a fairly complicated and entrenched gambling addiction.
“He is a single man who kept it to himself and had no support. He appreciates the breach of trust, and what makes it worse was that he got friends and family involved.
“He feels dreadful about that and the fact he dragged them into this case. That has had a significant impact on him and his relationships with others.
“He has sought assistance with the gambling difficulties he has had. He understands he will have to continue to seek help. He attends Gamblers Anonymous on a weekly basis.
Andrew Grant, 44 [6-11-79], Alexander Grove, Bearsden, admitted stealing 45 rare bottles of whisky and other spirits from Whisky Auctioneer Ltd, Inveralmond Industrial estate, Perth, between 17 August and 22 December 2021.
He admitted selling them at auction by pretending to friends and relatives that, as an employee, he had the right to purchase bottles at discount and could legitimately sell them.
He also admitted that between 2 August 2021 and 31 March 2022 he acquired and possessed £24,500 in criminal property.
Sheriff Bain ordered him to complete 300 hours unpaid work and placed him under supervision for three years as a direct alternative to custody. She ordered him to pay £2,000 compensation to Whisky Auctioneer Ltd.
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