Spurned Woman Gambles Away Former Partner's Money

A UK mother of three whose partner walked out on her has admitted gambling away £5,000 of his money online in order to take revenge and ‘hit him in the pocket.’
Laura Taylor, 29, from Teignmouth, was together with Kevin Collins for 10 years before he left his family to work on an oil rig. She then decided to access his bank account and link it to gambling companies Probability Games and MFortune, where she proceeded to gamble with his money.
Later on, after Mr Collins discovered the £5,000 balance left on his bank account was now showing £300 overdrawn, he confronted his ex-partner, who then admitted losing his money.
Appearing at Newton Abbot Magistrates’ Court, Laura Taylor pleaded guilty to fraud charges, but confessed to suffering from post-natal depression at the time. In addition, her solicitor Jeffrey Segan explained that the situation became worse after she started losing, resulting in her falling prey to the ‘gambler’s fallacy’ otherwise known as the Monte Carlo fallacy, in which the victim believes it is only a matter of time before their luck changes and they win their money back.
“She finds her actions difficult to rationalize..She was fed up with her circumstances and the gambling got out of hand,” explained Mr Segan
Due to the mitigating circumstances of the case, jail time was not recommended for Laura Taylor, who instead received 60 hours of community work and ordered to pay £85 costs. Meanwhile, Mr Collins has since been compensated in full by his bank, and has subsequently assumed a more active part in his children’s life. Finally, the gambling company said it wasn’t interested in pursuing a prosecution.