$92,000 worth of laptops stolen to fund gambling addict habits

An Irish man has pleaded guilty to stealing an estimated €84,000 of laptops from his place of work to fund his gambling addiction. Andrew McMorran, 43, pled guilty to 21 of 117 counts of theft between July 1, 2021, and March 31, 2023.

McMorran had previously been charged and convicted for doing something similar. In June 2023, he pled guilty to 28 counts of laptop theft at another business where he worked in the IT department.

Using the reselling website DoneDeal, McMorran would flag the stolen devices as damaged and then flip them. This was partially done during the pandemic and went on for so long due to oversight in security around IT. In the initial interview, McMorran described that the business’s supervision was “very lax”.

Originally, McMorran was accused of stealing up to 225 Dell laptops, but the spreadsheet the information was kept in was filled with duplicates. The business that he stole from claimed 116 laptops as their own. While an audit found 234 laptops lost, there’s insufficient evidence to tie him to every loss.

Patrick Whyms, a barrister representing McMorran, said that he’s in recovery for his gambling addiction. Bank statements at the time show evidence that the theft scheme was to fund gambling, and McMorran has deleted all apps off his phone.

It was reported that Whyms said that presenting the list of laptops “would not be typical behaviour of a criminal mastermind.”

Currently, McMorran works as a car park attendant. In court, his employer said that he is “trustworthy and reliable”, with no issues to speak of. McMorran has also admitted and taken full responsibility for any actions taken.

Mr McMorran has been released on bail but will need to return to court for sentencing. The case will continue on March 25; the date for his sentencing will be decided then.

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