14 January 2008
A former employee at UK system builder Rock Group has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to swindling £200,000 from the company to fund his gambling debts.
Paul Bicknell, who worked at the Warwick-based business for eight years, most recently employed as head of sales, was charged at Warwick Crown Court with nine counts of theft and one of burgling Rock’s premises.
The court heard that Rock became aware of Bicknell’s scams after finding payments made by a customer CFA Trading – a contact developed by Bicknell in 2005 – were going through a garage rather its own accounts.
The proceeds were used, alleged the prosecution, to hire prestigious cars and to pay for his online poker debts, which spiralled out of control – a problem that came to light when Bicknell rented a room from his colleague Ross Soden, later admitting his penchant for online poker.
In July 2007, Rock confronted Bicknell who then resigned from the business, but a month later he used his key to the firm’s warehouse and stole almost £11,500 worth of kit.
After his arrest – in a hired Porsche – police found he had been paying large sums of money to online poker sites.
Defence lawyer Nick Devine said Bicknell lived in a "fantasy world" and that he succumbed to what every bad gambler does and chased his debts.
