Televisions and laptop computers were used by employees of Tesco in Dundee in a fraudulent scheme that netted around £5000 before they were discovered.
The team leader in the electrical section at the South Road supermarket who started the scheme was yesterday sentenced to six months in jail by Sheriff Tom Hughes at Dundee Sheriff Court.
The sheriff told Garry Iain Taylor (26), of Sinclair Street, “I take the view this was a gross breach of your contract of employment.”
Taylor and Alex James Comrie (21), of Tait’s Lane, admitted that between March 5 and April 19 at Tesco, South Road, they formed a fraudulent scheme to obtain money and goods by creating false refunds and processing the refunds to obtain cash and goods.
Depute fiscal Trina Sinclair said that Taylor used Comrie for the first transaction with Comrie unaware that he was being used in the fraud.
Some time later they were in the pub together and Taylor admitted that it was a fake refund and he had dreamt up the scheme because he was in debt.
Comrie, who was a general assistant at the time, agreed to help Taylor and there were another six transactions put through the tills.
Flat screen TVs worth up to £1100 were apparently returned and Taylor would either take the cash or obtain laptops or other goods in return.
Before their scheme was exposed Comrie told Taylor he did not want anything more to do with it. By that time he had himself obtained goods worth £1250.
Internal security had already begun an investigation and when Taylor carried out one more fake refund they pounced.
Solicitor Gary McIlravey said Taylor had split up with his girlfriend, taken to drinking and debt had spiralled to £8000.
His solicitor said Taylor was “no criminal genius, it was inevitable his criminal conduct would be discovered.”
Solicitor Douglas McConnell said Comrie had, “Done too little too late when he advised Taylor he said not anything more to do with it.”
Mr McConnell told the court he had been given £800 by Comrie to repay his former employers.
In the circumstances Sheriff Hughes said he would defer sentence on Comrie for six months and expected him to have the balance of £450 to repay Tesco when he returns to court on January 27.