A gin distillery expert stole thousands of pounds from a new business he’d been hired to help.
Thomas Masters abused his position as a director of the company to steal around £143,000 – which he then used to fuel his gambling addiction.
Masters, 35, was headhunted by the gin distillery company for his expertise in the field and set out plans to create a gin school with a bar and restaurant in Nottingham city centre.
After being entrusted with the company’s business accounts however, he then proceeded to spend the money for his own personal gain and to facilitate his gambling addiction.
Between August 2018 and April 2019, Masters gambled away a total of £142,930.45 of investors’ money, with the heavy losses caused by his actions then resulting in the business folding.
Masters, of Fairway, Keyworth, appeared before Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (16 March 2022) for sentencing, having pleaded guilty to fraud.
He was jailed for two and a half years.
Detective Constable Jason Jenkins, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Masters took thousands of pounds that didn’t belong to him and gambled it all away.
“After gaining the trust of the company that hired him, Masters manipulated his position as a director to bring the business to its knees, with his actions sadly resulting in the company ceasing to exist.
“As this case shows, fraud can have a devastating impact on its victims and can leave people at risk of having their livelihoods destroyed.
“We are pleased to see that justice has been served in this case and we hope that the result sends out a strong message that Nottinghamshire Police will never tolerate this kind of offending.”
