Court report: Man who stole pay packets from 23 colleagues in Boston could face jail

Vasile Moldoveanu was an office coordinator for Pro-Force recruitment agency in Boston at the time of the offence five years ago.

The 29-year-old appeared at Boston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday last week to plead guilty to theft by an employee worth £5,304.75 on July 14, 2018.

Prosecutor Fiona McClelland told the hearing that Moldoveanu went into the office on the Friday evening and the following morning it was found that the pay packets were missing.

“He also had the keys to a company vehicle and the office so Pro-Force had to change the locks to [them],” she added.

“The defendant then fled the country the day after the offence.”

Miss McClelland said the case was a breach of trust and the starting point for sentencing was one year’s custody.

In mitigation, Phillipa Chatterton said Moldoveanu had a gambling problem at the time.

“Very much an addiction to slot machines,” she added.

“He went into the office to genuinely pay someone their wages.

“When he saw the rest of the wages the temptation was too much.”

The solicitor said her client had used some of the money to pay off gambling debts and spent the rest on more gambling.

Moldoveanu had returned to Romania to try and find work and pay back the money, the court was told.

The father-of-three was arrested upon his return to the UK in June 2021 and is now working as a food delivery service driver.

District Judge Peter Veits rejected a plea for a suspended sentence and committed the case to Lincoln Crown Court for sentencing.

Mr Veits told Moldoveanu: “The offence is aggravated by you fleeing the country.

“You disappeared and hoped it all went away. Well, it hasn’t gone away.

“My sentencing powers are insufficient so I’m committing you for sentence at the crown court.”

A pre-sentence report was ordered and Moldoveanu, of Ganymede Close, Ipswich, was granted unconditional bail.