Builder must repay $255K after gambling misuse

admin — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 00:53:40 +0000

A builder who used company money and the sale of hired machinery to bankroll a gambling habit has been ordered to repay £190,577 ($254,558) following an investigation by the UK’s Insolvency Service.

According to a press release, Vasile Hrusca, director of Vasile Hrusca Ltd, took more than £67,000 ($89,500) from his company in 2019 to settle the outstanding balance on a hire purchase agreement for an Audi RS6 costing just under £75,000 ($100,185).

Investigators said that in addition to the car payment he sold seven diggers and other plant machinery worth nearly £85,000 ($114,000) despite them still being under hire purchase agreements with two banks. The case details suggest that the proceeds were spent on gambling rather than on the struggling company.

Builder who stole plant machinery and used company money to pay for Audi ordered to repay more than £190,000
Director sentenced for theft and fraudulently removing company property must repay fundshttps://t.co/0QBEwU9a1P

— Press Releases (@press_newswire) December 3, 2025

The Insolvency Service found that the company was already failing when Hrusca began diverting funds for personal use. The loss of machinery left creditors unable to recover their assets, while the company’s financial position continued to deteriorate. Officials said the director’s actions created a significant shortfall for lenders and other victims.

Builder ordered to repay money used for gambling

A confiscation order was issued at Snaresbrook Crown Court on November 25. Hrusca has three months to repay the money or he could face up to two and a half years in prison. Even if he is jailed, the debt will remain until fully settled. Confiscation orders are used to recover the proceeds of criminal conduct and prevent offenders from benefiting from their actions.

Earlier this year Hrusca received an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years, a four-year ban from serving as a company director, 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activity. The latest order adds further financial consequences on top of the criminal sanctions already imposed.

Alexander Grierson, Head of Asset Recovery at the Insolvency Service, said: “Vasile Hrusca stripped assets from his failing company to benefit himself, leaving creditors and victims significantly out of pocket.

“Asset recovery is a vital tool in holding fraudulent directors to account […] This confiscation order sends a clear message that directors who misuse company assets for personal gain will be pursued for the proceeds of their crimes.”

Featured image: Cassianto via WikiCommons / CC BY-SA 4.0

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Former police officer jailed for blackmailing suspect to repay ‘significant’ gambling debts

admin — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 08:55:05 +0000

A former police officer in South Yorkshire has been jailed for blackmailing a suspect to pay off gambling debts.

Marie Thompson, 29, has been jailed for three years and four months after an investigation by South Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Department (PSD), as detailed in a report from the police force. The former police constable was found guilt of blackmailing a suspect in one of her own cases.

In 2023, Thompson, who was working in Doncaster, anonymously reached out to a suspect she was investigating. She used a fake email account to attempt to force a £3,500 ($4,600) ransom from the suspect to keep the allegations against them quiet.

The suspect took the blackmail to the police, with the case then allocated to Thompson as it was thought to be connected to her ongoing investigation. Thompson recorded false notes that the suspect did not want to pursue further steps in the investigation.

Another anonymous email was sent by Thompson a few days later, under the subject line: “I’m so sorry.” The email said that the sender was desperate, apologized for the previous blackmail attempt, and promised to stop all contact. Suspicions were nonetheless raised against Thompson, leading to a PSD investigation and then her arrest in October 2023.

Thompson was still in her probation period with South Yorkshire Police and was immediately suspended upon her arrest. Further investigation from PSD found that the emails had been sent from her personal laptop and that Thompson was in “significant debt through gambling”, although the exact amount is not publicly known.

Police officer charged and sentenced

After pleading guilty at Leeds Crown Court on September 4, Thompson was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for blackmail and perverting the course of justice. She has also been served with a Regulation 13 notice, which deems her unfit to serve as a police officer.

“Thompson’s crimes are shameful and cast a shadow over the excellent work being delivered for our communities by policing colleagues driven by fairness, integrity and trust,” said Detective Constable Alexandra Furniss, the officer in charge of this case.

“There is no place in our force for police officers who fail to live and work by our values and standards. Our work to root out these individuals continues in our tireless bid to ensure our force builds and maintains the trust and confidence of the public.”

A similar story was reported last month in Australia’s New South Wales, where a police officer sold gold bars to fund his gambling debts.

Featured image: South Yorkshire Police

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Builder must repay $255K after gambling misuse

Builder ordered to repay money used for gambling

Former police officer jailed for blackmailing suspect to repay ‘significant’ gambling debts

Police officer charged and sentenced