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Lottery fraud shop worker Imran Pervais spared jail Lottery fraud shop worker Imran Pervais spared jail
(35 minutes later)
A shop worker who tried to trick a lottery syndicate out of a £79,887 payout has been spared prison. A shop worker who tried to trick a lottery syndicate out of its £79,887 winnings has been spared prison.
Imran Pervais, 26, from Kent, tried to mislead the winners after their ticket had matched five balls and the bonus ball.Imran Pervais, 26, from Kent, tried to mislead the winners after their ticket had matched five balls and the bonus ball.
Pervais told them they had won just £10 to try to pocket the payout, Maidstone Crown Court heard. Pervais told them they had won just £10, hoping to pocket the payout himself, Maidstone Crown Court heard.
He was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for two years, for fraud by false representation.He was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for two years, for fraud by false representation.
Pervais, of Milton Road, Gravesend, was convicted by a jury following a two-day trial in March.Pervais, of Milton Road, Gravesend, was convicted by a jury following a two-day trial in March.
Sentencing him, Judge David Griffiths-Jones QC described the offence as "opportunistic" and "mean-spirited". Sentencing him, Judge David Griffiths-Jones QC described the offence as "opportunistic" and "mean-spirited".
He said Pervais had abused the trust placed in him by the victims, Callum Crosier and his work syndicate at Morrisons Utility Services in Chatham.He said Pervais had abused the trust placed in him by the victims, Callum Crosier and his work syndicate at Morrisons Utility Services in Chatham.
Pervais was working at the family shop, Moores Convenience Store in Mackenzie Way, Gravesend, on 18 May last year when Mr Crosier came to check four lottery tickets he had bought the week before.
Pervais told Mr Crosier, who bought 28 lines a week as part of the syndicate, that one of the tickets had won £10.
As another winning slip was being printed, the victim said: "What's that? Another tenner?"
Pervais was said to have replied: "Yes," the court heard.
Bin bags searched
Not realising he had fallen victim to fraud, Mr Crosier used the £20 winnings and added another £8 to buy another 28 lines for the next lottery draw.
When he returned to work and checked the numbers, he realised one of the lines had matched five numbers, winning £1,000.
He returned to the store and Pervais told him to return in a couple of hours so he could check the shop for the ticket.
The court heard Mr Crosier checked the numbers again and realised the bonus ball had also been matched, winning nearly £80,000.
When he went back to the shop and demanded to be shown the ticket, he was given bin bags to search through before being invited to look behind the counter.
Some wooden plinths were removed from the back of the counter, revealing a number of pink winning slips and the screwed-up winning lottery ticket, the court heard.
Camelot launched an investigation and found that all four tickets had been scanned, including the one with the winning prize.
Pervais was arrested on 15 June.
'Mean-spirited'
Judge Griffiths-Jones told him: "That the win was in excess of £50,000 would have been apparent to you as you processed the tickets, or at least that a substantial win would have been apparent to you, but you told Mr Crosier that he had won £10.
"No doubt planning to wait in the hope that he would be content and would accept this small sum, perhaps even be glad of it, so that when you could see that there would be no repercussions you would be able to claim the prize for yourself.
"The offence, whilst opportunistic, was, as it seems to me, especially mean-spirited.
"It was intended to deprive Mr Crosier and his syndicate of a substantial sum of money and in the process deprive them of the romantic joy which the win would have represented for them."
John Fitzgerald, defending Pervais, said the family business had suffered as the lottery franchise had been withdrawn from the shop.
"The strain on the family dynamic has been huge," he said.
Mr Fitzgerald said that no money was ultimately taken from the winners.
In a statement, Camelot said allegations made against retailers selling lottery tickets were "very rare", and that it had stringent operations in place to prevent and detect fraud.
"Where we believe unlawful activity has taken place, we will not hesitate to work with the appropriate enforcement body - in this case Kent Police - and assist it in any investigation," the statement added.
"This is because the success of The National Lottery is built on player trust - and today's sentence provides clear evidence that Camelot will not allow that trust to be undermined in any way."