A man addicted to gambling has reportedly used a naïve woman working for a nursing agency to steal £50,000 to pay off his gambling debt.

Reports said the 44-year-old man, Peter Adcock, had seduced the young woman, Donna Lissett, who’s from a sheltered background in order to help him steal the money from her employer.

The scam perpetuated by the couple led to the loss of 15 jobs and almost caused the collapse of Trust Healthcare Management.

Lissett, 22, and her partner were said to have created three ‘ghost’ workers named after their friends and stole money from the firm which cares for elderly and disabled persons. They paid the stolen money into the fake workers’ accounts.

Appearing before Derby Crown Court, both Lissett and Adcock admitted theft.

Adcock was sentenced to a 20-month jail term, while Lissett was jailed for one year and suspended for 18 months.

In addition, the court ordered her to do 100 hours’ community work and was placed on probation for 18 months.