Gala Bingo

Ms Ndebele, aged 29 aided the Gala Bingo fraud in September last year and Ms Temple aged 28, assisted Mr Grant in March this year.   The crime was found to have occurred after a concerned Gala bingo player mentioned to the management team at the Gala Bingo Hall in Sunderland that she had suspicions of wrong doing in a bingo game that she had played. Gala Bingo immediately investigated the matter and suspended the two team members whilst the investigation was ongoing.   The women had both been employed as claim checkers at the Gala Bingo hall escaped jail, instead receiving supervision orders. All three defendants had pled guilty to the charges of Conspiracy to defraud in respect of the two games, the first involving Ms Ndebele who won almost £8,000 in a Gala Bingo game and Ms Temple who had received a £1,040 prize fund in a Gala Bingo game played in March this year.

The story of the tragic trio has been told on local online news publications and also on the Mirror News website .  All those involved had used the money from the illicit Gala Bingo games to clear their debts.  Ms Temple and Mr Grant who live together and have a child have been in receipt of benefits since losing their jobs in the aftermath of the Gala Bingo investigation.