Shrewsbury Carphone Warehouse boss stole £5,000 from till
A Shrewsbury mobile phone shop boss stole more than £5,000 from the company using a loophole to make fraudulent cash transactions, a court heard.
Former Carphone Warehouse manager Jak Wright, 25, took advantage of the retailer's payment system, Telford Magistrates Court was told.
Miss Abigail Hall, prosecuting, said the matter came to light after the branch based at Meole Brace Retail Park, Shrewsbury, suffered losses and an internal investigated was carried out.
Wright worked for there for 12 months.
Miss Hall said: "There had been larges losses at the store. Investigations revealed that the defendant was responsible for about 12 fraudulent transactions. He used two different methods to steal the amounts in question. The total amount believed to have been stolen is £5,355.99.
"One method used was the defendant would locate a previous sale to a genuine customer then create a false entry using a second sale and a faulty profile that would give the impression that the customer is present and is being offered a refund. The defendant would make the refund to his cash card or take it from the till.
"The second method was to locate a previous sale and create a false trade-in deal. Some of these were seen on CCTV," Miss Hall said.
She said Wright was interviewed twice regarding the allegations and at first he denied any wrongdoing. Later he admitted that it was possible to create ghost transactions to balance the accounts.
Miss Hall said the defendant was asked whether the security cameras would show such transactions taking place. At that point he admitted paying about £600 to himself. But at a follow up interview he admitted he had made numerous transactions of between £2,000 to £3,000.
"He stated that he took the money without permission and had no intention of giving it back. He was shown the CCTV which showed him using his own card to credit the account and showed him on two occasions putting cash into his pocket ," she added.
Wright, of Allerton Road, in Sundorne, Shrewsbury, pleaded guilty to one charge of theft by an employee between February and June.
The magistrates told him: "You were a branch manager and you were in a position of trust. If there is a loophole in the system it is your responsibility to tell the company and not to take advantage of it."
They transferred the case to the crown court for sentencing next month. Wright was granted unconditional bail until then.
