Casino firm seeks to recover cash from 'chips in socks' croupier
Posted by Gavin Smith on 18 May 2009 at 08:05
A casino firm has served a writ on a croupier caught stuffing gaming chips into his socks, alleging he stole £250,00 and £300,000 from the company.
The Daily Mail reports Wayne Wagner was given a 15 month prison sentence last October after he admitted stealing £69,000 while working at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in Central London.
Although the judge said he must repay £36,000, Grosvenor Casinos Ltd has now served a High Court writ on him, claiming he actually stole as much as £300,000.
According to the paper, the company is looking to recover damages for fraud and breach of contract. It is also requesting a refund and an account of bank deposits Wagner made after cashing in the chips.
The Mail adds that before he was caught Wagner would pass the hidden chips on to an accomplice posing as a casino customer, who would then cash the chips in. The plan is said to have carried on for some six years, with the croupier ending up with as much as £1,000 a month.
South-African born Wagner was only caught when staff at the casino spotted him making movements towards his socks while at a gaming table.
He was confronted by management at the casino in March last year and admitted the offence.
After he was arrested police searched his home and found £11,000 in gaming chips plus £5000 cash. They also discovered £66,000 pounds in an account he opened with a deposit of £55,000 in May 2007.
The Mail reports Wagner declined to name who cashed in the stolen chips, but adds that a man is named in the writ.
Accoding to the paper, Wagner is now divorced having married Korean-born casino worker Miri Hong in June 1996, and has two sons aged eight and seven.
The report also quoted 'a family friend' as saying: "Wayne is a lovely man, extremely honest and kind, and lived for his children.
"If he's been caught doing anything wrong I'm sure it's because he must have been led astray."
