Whisky thief stole £42k of spirits from Perth auctioneer to bankroll gambling addiction

A gambling addict thief swindled his Perth auctioneer employer out of dozens of bottles of high value whisky worth more than £40,000.

Andrew Grant stole 45 bottles of expensive whisky then told friends and family to sell them at auction – including through his own workplace – claiming to have bought them legitimately at a reduced price.

He raked in the profits to fund his gambling.

The thief was ordered to complete unpaid work and compensate the company as a direct alternative to jail.

Dram scam

Whisky Auctioneer, headquartered at Perth’s Inveralmond Industrial Estate, sells rare and collectible bottles of whisky at global auctions.

Grant, 44, began working with the firm in January 2021 in a role which gave him access to the storage area.

A check carried out in February 2022 uncovered an anomaly which showed 45 bottles of whisky were missing.

Further investigation showed the bottles had been sold by four different people on various platforms, including Whisky Auctioneer.

60% of the proceeds had been transferred to Grant’s bank account.

Police interviewed him and he explained he got friends and family to sell the bottles, which he told them he had been allowed to purchase at a reduced price.

He explained the sellers had no idea about the thefts and he was using the money to bankroll a gambling addiction.

In total, 45 bottles of spirits worth £42,700 were stolen by Grant and he received £24,500 from their sale.

‘Entrenched’ in gambling addiction

At an earlier hearing, Grant, of Alexander Grove in Bearsden, admitted thefts between August 17 2021 and December 22 2021.

He also admitted that between August 2 2021 and March 31 2022, he acquired and possessed criminal property, namely the £24,500 he gained through the sales.

Sentencing had been deferred for background reports to be prepared.

Solicitor Doug McConnell told Perth Sheriff Court: “He had no support at the time.

“He got himself entrenched in a gambling addiction.

“He accepts the breach of trust.

“What makes it worse is he got friends and family involved – he feels dreadful about that.

“That’s had a significant impact on Mr Grant and his relationships.”

He said his client has since sought medical and expert help, adding: “I don’t know if Mr Grant has put his gambling addiction behind him – I don’t know if anybody can put a gambling addiction behind them totally.”

Breached trust

As a direct alternative to imprisonment, Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC placed the thief on a community payback order with the maximum 300 hours of unpaid work in a year and three years of supervision.

He was also given 28 days to compensate Whisky Auctioneer with £2,000 he has saved and a confiscation order of just over £100 was also made.

The sheriff said: “You breached the trust of your employer by stealing goods of a very high value from them.

“You involved your family in the scheme by having them sell the goods without telling them.

“You have accepted full responsibility at an early stage. You are rightly devastated and ashamed by your behaviour.

“These offences fall well within the range of a custodial disposal. Such a disposal would do little.”

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