This online punter has a forgiving partner

Tracy King, a 39-year-old mother of three, was fortunate to escape a jail sentence this week despite admitting to the theft of a large sum of money from her partner in order to gamble online. Thanks mainly to her partner’s forgiving attitude she was spared imprisonment by the Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday.

King stole GBP 197,876 from her partner Gavin Ling’s savings account after guessing his internet banking password. Using a similar criminal technique, she stole another GBP 48,965 from her 88-year-old uncle Ron Smith, spending the total of almost GBP 250,000 on internet gambling sites, reports the East Anglian Daily Times.

None of the money has been recovered, the Court was told.

King was sentenced to just 18 months jail suspended for 18 months after Ling told the court that he forgave her, saying: “Money means nothing – having my partner home with my family means more than anything in the world.”

Judge Anthony Goldstaub QC said: “An unusual feature of the case is that your long-term partner, Mr Ling, and your uncle, Mr Smith, have shown remarkable moderation and restraint as well as selfless affection for you in being prepared to forgive you.

“I salute their magnanimity.

“These monies can never be replaced but they say their relationship with you is of a quality and value to them which is more important than money.”

Ling thanked the court for its leniency, revealing that he had recently overseen the sale of his elderly mother’s home and had placed a large sum of the cash into a savings account to leave to his children in his will.

The cash was transferred without his knowledge but the theft was only investigated after Halifax bank refused to reveal where the money had been sent without a police investigation.

Related and similar