Gambling addiction led to downfall of £80k job graduate

An accounting student secured an £80,000-a-year job before becoming addicted to gambling and forging her parents' signatures to take out credit cards and thousands of pounds in loans, a court heard.

Jayna Patel, aged 24, paid off debts, bought new clothes and travelled to New York after accessing more than £43,000 in her parents' names.

Despite a "deep-rooted" gambling addiction Patel, from Wolverhampton, had been offered a well paid job working for London-based PriceWaterhouseCooper, while studying for an accounting degree in Liverpool.

But the offer was withdrawn when the fraud came to light. At Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday Patel, of Wardlow Close, off Goldthorn Hill, was senten-ced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years.

Judge Amjad Nawaz told her: "Having gone to university and done your degree, these convictions will leave you in a position where your qualifications are of no use to you and that is a sentence longer that this court can pass."

Mr Mark Phillips, prosecuting, said Patel used the internet to apply for bank accounts, loans and credit cards in her parents' names, between March and December 2007.

She then intercepted their post and forged their signatures to authorise the accounts before using online banking to make payments. She also spent £1,800 on a credit card while pretending to be her mother.

"The first thing her parents knew about it was in November 2008 when someone from Nationwide called at their home to say they owed £16,000," said Mr Phillips. "From then on notices came rolling in from debt collectors."

Miss Rebecca Smith, defending, said Patel had hop-ed the accounting job would allow her to repay the debts. "It is an unusual case because she had everything to live and strive for."

Patel, who admitted six counts of fraud totalling £21,129, asked for 14 other offences of fraud worth £21,998, to be taken into account. She was given an 18 month supervision order and 150 hours unpaid work.