Indian-origin man jailed for stealing from employer

A court in Britain has sentenced an Indian-origin man to 18 months in prison after he was found guilt of stealing 61,000 pounds from his employer, a media report said.

Leicester Crown Court found that Dharmesh Mukesh Kumar Patel, 24, misused his position as a purchase ledger clerk at Leicestershire-based Ashfield Healthcare to divert payments due to suppliers into his own bank account, the Leicester Mercury reported on Sunday.

Patel, a gambling addict, was on bail for a similar offence when he joined Ashfield Healthcare, the report added.

"He diverted the money in the hope of being able to gamble and make money to pay people back, but it wasn't something he was able to do," prosecutor Harold Ewing said.

The court ruled that Patel, who pleaded guilty to committing the fraud, will no longer have a bank account, and his father would now be made in charge of his finances.