A trusted estate agent worker who stole more than £195,000 and blew it all on gambling has walked free from court.
Ryan Freeman had been employed by Jan Forster since he was 16 and was put through an apprenticeship and trained up with an accountancy qualification. But he repaid the company by betraying their trust, causing huge loss and forcing the closure of a branch.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that over the course of four years he made 266 fraudulent transactions into his own account to bankroll his out of control gambling addiction. He admitted theft and false accounting and was given a suspended prison sentence.
