Compulsive gambling leads to $1.6M theft

Published: Aug. 5, 2007 at 7:38 PM

PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Family members of a Florida woman who stole $1.6 million blame her compulsive gambling.

Donna Duffer, 55, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing money from her former employer, the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The theft made victims of Duffer's employer, co-workers and her family, The Palm Beach Post said Sunday.

Bureau employees have had to pay back taxes since Duffer stole the withholdings from paychecks.

Her 68-year-old husband George, who handed the family finances over to Donna after he had a heart attack, had to sell their home and move into a trailer.

Duffer's husband and son say she was a victim of a gambling addiction, the Post said. She spent increasing amounts of time gambling in online casinos, and became secretive about family finances.

Eventually, Duffer's family talked her into joining Gambler's Anonymous, but it was too late. She marked nine months without gambling days before last week's sentencing.

Her attorneys presented evidence about gambling addiction during her trial, but Judge Lucy Chernow Brown rejected the argument, saying Duffer -- not her employer or her family or gambling -- was responsible for her crimes.

© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Listeria causes illness at much lower dose
Drug companies to fight neglected diseases
Unhappy at school ups teen pregnancy risk
NBA: Los Angeles Lakers 121, Phoenix 102
NHL: Dallas 3, San Jose 2 (SO)
Anti-psychotics overused for dementia
Scandal-ridden Spitzer gives ethics talk
fark
Whoever left a sawn-off alligator head in a rural field in Yorkshire, England, congratulations,...
Fired is what you get for thinking with the little Florida, and not listening to the big Florida....
Drew's list of 'seasonal' stories is woefully incomplete without "annual turkey baster search"
Experts wonder if the upswing in retail theft may be connected to the unemployment rate. What the...
MPAA shuts down an entire town's wi-fi because one person illegally downloaded a movie. Take that,...
Verizon has found a way to charge you for accidental keystrokes