{"id":217126,"date":"2022-06-13T16:09:46","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T23:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=217126"},"modified":"2022-06-13T17:19:56","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T00:19:56","slug":"gambler-who-bilked-uk-company-out-of-6-7m-ordered-repay-just-69k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gambler-who-bilked-uk-company-out-of-6-7m-ordered-repay-just-69k\/","title":{"rendered":"Gambler Who Bilked UK Company Out of \u00a36.7M Ordered Repay Just \u00a369K"},"content":{"rendered":"

A gambling-addicted accountant who stole \u00a36.7 million (US$8.1 million) from a family-run store-fitting installation company in Merseyside, England will repay just \u00a369,000 (US$84,000) of the money he embezzled.<\/p>\n

\"James
James Hall, pictured, thought it was \u201cridiculous\u201d that he was fired from his job for stealing 6.7 million and was \u201cthinking on a different plane,\u201d according to his defense lawyer. (Image: Liverpool World)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

James Hall, 49, was sentenced to six years in prison in March for fraud for scamming his employer, Vale UK, out of the seven-figure sum, which he plowed into risky stock market bets.<\/p>\n

But a hearing Monday heard that Hall now only has \u00a369,164.50 to his name. Recorder Simon Hilton ordered Hall to repay the sum within three months.<\/p>\n

Hall earned a good salary, \u00a381,000 per year, at Vale UK, where he had worked since leaving university. He was on close terms with the company director, Peter Henerty, who saw him as a \u201cbrother,\u201d according to prosecutor Fiona McNeil.<\/p>\n

\u2018Different Plane\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In 2012, Hall asked to borrow \u00a3250,000 (US$303,000) from the company fund to renovate his own house so he could sell it. Henerty agreed. But from that point onwards, Hall began to take more and more money without permission.<\/p>\n

The fraud was uncovered in 2015 when the company identified irregularities in the accounts.<\/p>\n

Hall was initially in denial. He told Henerty that he took the money because he \u201cwanted security for his wife and children,\u201d according to court documents. He thought it was \u201cridiculous\u201d that he was fired because of his actions, according to defense attorney Andrew Nuttall.<\/p>\n

He was thinking on a completely different plane than what you\u2019d expect rational people to think. Now, he struggles to explain it himself and how he could have possibly acted in the way he did.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHe seems to have thought himself rather like Professor Pangloss in Voltaire\u2019s Candide, everything will turn out for the best,\u201d Nuttall added. \u201cThat was his thinking. But it hasn\u2019t, and he must pay the piper.\u201d<\/p>\n

McNeill said Henerty \u201ccouldn\u2019t believe the defendant acted in the way he did. He was a trusted employee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Anxious and Sick\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In a victim impact statement, Henerty said he felt \u201canxious and physically sick\u201d when he thought about the amount of money that was stolen. He added that he finds it difficult to trust people around him.<\/p>\n

Judge Tom Gilbert described the sums of money stolen by Hall as \u201cstaggering.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore you decided to involve yourself in these matters, you were a man of impeccable character.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was extremely serious criminality. You were given a position of trust by this company, and you abused that trust over a long period.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A gambling-addicted accountant who stole \u00a36.7 million (US$8.1 million) from a family-run store-fitting installation company in Merseyside, England will repay just \u00a369,000 (US$84,000) of the money he embezzled. James Hall, 49, was sentenced to six years in prison in March for fraud for scamming his employer, Vale UK, out of the seven-figure sum, which he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":217128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGambler Who Bilked UK Company Out of \u00a36.7M Ordered Repay Just \u00a369K<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gambling addict James Hall was jailed for six years in March but can only repay \u00a369K of the \u00a36.7M he took from Vale UK.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gambler Who Bilked UK Company Out of \u00a36.7M Ordered Repay Just \u00a369K\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gambling addict James Hall was jailed for six years in March but can only repay \u00a369K of the \u00a36.7M he took from Vale UK.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gambler-who-bilked-uk-company-out-of-6-7m-ordered-repay-just-69k\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-13T23:09:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-14T00:19:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/J-HALL.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"898\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gambler-who-bilked-uk-company-out-of-6-7m-ordered-repay-just-69k\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gambler-who-bilked-uk-company-out-of-6-7m-ordered-repay-just-69k\/\",\"name\":\"Gambler Who Bilked UK Company Out of \u00a36.7M Ordered Repay Just \u00a369K\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gambler-who-bilked-uk-company-out-of-6-7m-ordered-repay-just-69k\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gambler-who-bilked-uk-company-out-of-6-7m-ordered-repay-just-69k\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/J-HALL.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-13T23:09:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-14T00:19:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Gambling addict James Hall was jailed for six years in March but can only repay \u00a369K of the \u00a36.7M he took from Vale UK.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gambler-who-bilked-uk-company-out-of-6-7m-ordered-repay-just-69k\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gambler-who-bilked-uk-company-out-of-6-7m-ordered-repay-just-69k\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gambler-who-bilked-uk-company-out-of-6-7m-ordered-repay-just-69k\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/J-HALL.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/J-HALL.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":898,\"caption\":\"James Hall, pictured, thought it was \u201cridiculous\u201d that he was fired from his job for stealing 6.7 million and was \u201cthinking on a different plane,\u201d according to his defense lawyer. 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