Supermarket till worker acquitted over gift card fraud plot

Mr M was accused of entering the details of stolen credit cards to purchase gift cards totalling more than £10,000.

He found himself out of a job and facing the prospect of prison if convicted of fraud by false representation.

Prosecutors claimed that Mr M used his supervisor’s login details to carry out fourteen illicit transactions totalling £10,032.

Mr M instructed Stuart Miller Solicitors and denied any knowledge of the alleged fraud plot.

A spokesman for the London law firm explained: “The prosecution discovered that 14 credit and debit cards were processed by Mr M manually and the owners of those cards had no knowledge that their cards were used.

“In an attempt to bolster its case, the prosecution sought to introduce into the case Mr M’s previous conviction for possession of class B drugs from many years ago.

“Mr M found himself without a job and facing a trial before a jury at the crown court.”

Mr M insisted that at no time was he in possession of his supervisor’s login details. He said there were many times when he may have left his cashier terminal open and that someone else could have logged on.

Stuart Miller fraud lawyers began to unravel the case against Mr M by launching a number of legal arguments and requesting the disclosure of materials linked to the supermarket’s own internal investigation.

The prosecution failed to respond to these requests and the case against Mr M was dropped.

A second employee, who chose a different firm of solicitors, was convicted of fraud by false representation.

A spokesman for Stuart Miller Solicitors said: “Having litigated hundreds of employment fraud cases, Stuart Miller fraud lawyers were aware of the inherent vulnerabilities in internal investigations.

“Having strategically laid the trap in previous legal arguments before the court they launched a continuity legal argument on the day of trial.

“The prosecution were unable to respond and the case against Mr M was dropped.”