A maintenance manager stole thousands of pounds worth of items, including TVs, lights and computer equipment, from an Aberdeen hotel – and then flogged them all on eBay.
Gordon Cameron, 60, began by selling items that the Aberdeen Altens Hotel was throwing away, but when his debts “spiralled out of control” he ended up auctioning off nearly £2,500 worth of goods over a period of more than a year.
He was eventually caught when bosses searched his work computer and discovered 118 reviews had been left by buyers on his eBay account.
Fiscal depute Alison Reid told Aberdeen Sheriff Court: “At the time of the offence the accused was employed at the locus, a hotel in Altens, Aberdeen.
“He was employed as a maintenance manager.
“On July 16 2019 it came to the attention of another manager that there had been a breach of company policy relating to computer usage.
“It was discovered that various programmes had been downloaded on to a computer used by the accused.
“This manager had cause to go to the accused’s maintenance office and search through the computer.
“The manager discovered that the accused had regularly visited eBay, used to buy and sell goods.
“The manager clicked on a link showing the accused’s username and, at this point, the manager realised the accused had been selling items that belonged to the hotel.
“It appeared this had been going on for some time.
“Various people who bought goods from the accused had left reviews. The manager noted there were 118 reviews from people who had purchased items from the accused.
“A disciplinary meeting was held with the accused and he admitted to stealing various items.
“The total value of the items stolen and sold on was £2,425.50, this included different items within the hotel, televisions, different fixtures and fittings, and also computer equipment.
“On December 16 2019 the accused was interviewed by the police and made full admissions and stated that he was in a lot of debt from credit cards, unpaid council tax, and loans that spiralled out of control.”
Cameron, whose address was given in court papers as Eday Drive, Aberdeen, pled guilty to a charge of theft over the incident.
Defence agent Stuart Murray said his client had found himself in debt which had built up over around a decade and had “hidden” from his family.
He said: “initially he had taken to removing items from the site which were going to be disposed of, albeit he would sell these items for a fraction of their value.
“He was not able to get out of the debt he was in from selling these items.”
Sheriff Ian Duguid QC told Cameron: “It’s unfortunate that at your age you find yourself before the court again dealing with a matter of dishonesty.”
He ordered Cameron to complete 150 hours of unpaid work within a year and also imposed 12 months of supervision.
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