Suspended sentence for stealing thousands from employer

By Brion Hoban

A manager who stole thousands of euro from the shop where he worked has received a fully suspended sentence.

Nalavan Samy (42) stole the money over a nine month period which came to an end when another employee flagged an issue with a product for which he had been generating false refunds in order to take the money.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Samy found himself in a precarious financial position after landlords twice forced him to move resulting from complaints about his non-verbal daughter.

Samy of Slade Castle, Saggart, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft at Quinn’s Centra, Poppintree, Ballymun, on dates between September 26, 2019, and June 4, 2020.

He has no previous convictions.

Passing sentence today, Judge Elma Sheahan said that she was taking into consideration that Samy is the sole provider for both his wife and child.

The judge also noted that the business in question has now been sold and that €4,000 saved by Samy could not be paid to the former business owners.

She ordered that this money be donated to the Simon Community.

Judge Sheahan sentenced Samy to twenty months imprisonment, but suspended the sentence in its entirety on strict conditions.

She also ordered him to pay a further €1,000 to the Simon Community over the next eighteen months.

Detective Garda Stephen Donnelly told Karl Moran BL, prosecuting, that Samy began stealing from the shop after becoming manager in September 2019.

He carried out fake refunds on the till, allowing him take cash up to four times a week.

Det Gda Donnelly said the offending came to light in June 2020 when another employee flagged an issue with the stock levels of a particular product.

There were zero sales for that product, yet there had been seven refunds recorded for it that week.

Samy admitted his theft to the operations manager once this discrepancy came to light and later made full admissions to gardaí.

He told gardaí that he was struggling financially and also mentioned having a gambling issue.

The total amount stolen over the nine month period was €9,349.78.

Det Gda Donnelly agreed with Andrew King BL, defending, that his client almost immediately acknowledged his responsibility and did not try to flee the premises.

He agreed Samy had saved €4,000 which is available for transmission to the business.

The detective agreed with counsel that his client has a young daughter who is non-verbal.

He agreed Samy was put under pressure to move from landlords due to complaints about his daughter screaming and that there was no suggestion of anything untoward going on but that she simply was not capable of communicating.

Mr King said his client was the primary financier of his daughter and his partner.

He said his client found himself in financial difficulty and in a precarious position due to having to move twice having been demanded to do so by previous landlords.

Counsel said his client continues to work and is now employed as a baker.