Barista stole £4,000 from café customers after pocketing payments using his own card machine
6 September 2024, 10:07
A barista who stole £4,000 from café customers at a popular high street chain has been fined just £200 after pocketing payments using his own card machine.
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Brandon Leung, 26, was found to have syphoned customers payments using a SumUp chip and pin machine purchased online for £70.
The court heard how the barista, who was employed at high street chain Joe & The Juice, was only rumbled after a customer complained that she had been charged £94 for her order instead of £42.10.
The smoothie specialist tried in vain to refund the customer in a bid to avoid drawing attention to his crimes.
However, when he was unable to, he resorted to withdrawing cash at an ATM to manually refund her.
He was later suspended after the customer in question alerted his bosses, the court heard.
Leung's lawyer, Ruta Mikailaite, told the court the barista had racked up a £2,000 in debt which he was attempting to pay off.
Appearing in court, Leung, of Ladbrooke Grove, West London, admitted to the fraud charges against him.
The barista, who had a past conviction for theft, avoided jail and instead was handed a 12-month community order and 120 hours' unpaid work.
Prosecutor Ellen Alexander said: “He thought he could work out an agreement with the company to pay the money off" according to The Sun.
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“The offence was of a sophisticated nature.“It was an abuse of position and power,” Westminster Magistrates court was told.
The barista is said to have come up with the chip-and-pin reader scam after seeing senior staff “use their own card machines” to take payments.
Following his admittance of guilt, he was fined £200 due to his lack of funds.
He was not required to repay debts to the drinks company, despite his solicitor saying he had offered to.
