Grandma Gets Spared the Pokey After Gambling Away Stolen $250k

An Auckland, New Zealand grandmother has been sentenced to one year home detention after stealing $200,000 from her employer to help support her gambling addiction.

Lorena Marie Bailey, 58, was employed at Epicurean Dairy Ltd where she was accused of accessing a company computer to net $188,694.

"She developed a severe gambling problem at the start of 2013 and it was of such a nature that it overtook every aspect of her life and simply was something she couldn't control," her lawyer Petrina Stokes said.

The Court heard how Bailey had been disowned by her family and lost custody of her beloved granddaughter causing the defendant to act out of character.

Bailey was ordered to pay back $10,000 immediately while the rest will be paid over a five year period, half of which will come out of her savings account.

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com