South Carolina residents with dependency issues commonly have to face many stumbling blocks. Regardless of whether a person is addicted to drugs, alcohol or gambling, their need for money to fund their addictions may move them to commit white collar crimes. Those who fail to seek the help of rehabilitation programs may ultimately have to face the legal consequences of their deeds.
A 61-year-old handyman whose gambling addiction had landed him in trouble with the law on multiple occasions was in court again on a recent Thursday. He was charged with breach of trust and pleaded guilty. The case arose from an incident in which the man accepted money from a husband and wife who contracted him to do renovations to their home. As an advance to obtain materials to do the renovations, the couple gave him $7,000. Instead of buying the materials, he apparently spent the all money on scratch-off tickets for a lottery.
The defendant asserted that he needed help to overcome his addiction to gambling. He has several previous convictions for breach of trust and even spent short times in prison in the past. In the latest court case, the judge sentenced the man to incarceration for seven years.
South Carolina residents who have been charged with white collar crimes that were committed to fund their addictions may find that consultations with experienced white collar crime attorneys can help them in more ways than one. In addition to assessing each case and fighting to protect the rights of their clients, lawyers may be able to arrange for defendants to be enrolled into appropriate rehabilitation programs. Being able to show such positive steps to the courts when the cases come to trial may be beneficial for the defendants.
Source: heraldonline.com, “Rock Hill scammer gets 7 years prison for stealing $7K for lottery tickets“, Andrew Dys, June 25, 2015
