Mid Wales woman admits stealing £59,800 of lottery scratch cards

A court heard that Janet Vera Lloyd-Jones, 53, had “won” more than £20,000 because of the fraud.

Lloyd-Jones, who had never been in trouble before, appeared at Mold Crown Court yesterday.

The defendant, of Escair, Llanwynog, near Caersws, admitted that between August 2014 and August 2015 she stole lottery scratchcards to the value of £59,800 from H.B and G.L.Jones (Caersws) Ltd.

She also admitted fraud in that she made a false claim that she had won on lottery scratchcards to the tune of £20,080.

The defendant further admitted that she had stolen groceries valued at £150 from the shop.

Her barrister Jonathan Austin said that his client had worked at the store for a number of years.

She was aware of the sentencing guidelines and the position that she had put herself in, he said.

He asked for an adjournment for a pre-sentence report to be prepared, along with character references.

Judge Niclas Parry agreed and he bailed her pending sentence at Caernarfon Crown Court on June 8.

The judge told her she had the good sense to plead guilty at an early stage and that would make a significant difference in sentence.

“I would be misleading you if I told you not to prepare yourself for a custodial sentence,” he said.

“You are a woman of good character, you deserve every chance and you will have the opportunity of a pre-sentence report.”

Details of the prosecution case were not opened at this stage.