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A Salmon Arm casino worker who defrauded the casino where he worked to feed his own gambling addiction put in no effort to cover his tracks when he swiped $21,000.

Chasers casino shift manager Jordan Jacob Hofer used his work computer login to put through lottery transactions that never happened while being filmed on CCTV.

Battling his gambling addiction, over a two-week period in the fall of 2023, Hofer put through 16 fraudulent transactions, withdrawing $21,700.

The money was soon gone as the 30-year-old chased his next "big win."

On July 22, BC Provincial Court Judge David Patterson said Hofer's fraud was "quite frankly not very sophisticated."

While Hofer didn't hide what he was doing, it still took the casino almost two months to discover its losses, which it uncovered during an audit. It then called the RCMP.

Hofer was charged with fraud and theft.

Defence lawyer Glenn Verdurmen said Hofer wasn't thinking straight when he took the money.

"When you're chasing the big win, the next thing is that you're losing and you're playing catch-up. And you... have a big score, and then you blow through that money," Verdurmen said. "You just stop thinking about consequences... when you're in the grips of this."

The court heard how Hofer had worked at various retail stores around Salmon Arm since he was 16 years old and had been an assistant manager at a fast food restaurant. At the time of the fraud, he was making $22 an hour working at the casino as a shift manager.

He is married with a young son and didn't have a criminal record. He'd once wanted to be an RCMP officer and had spent two years volunteering with the Salmon Arm Citizens on Patrol team.

However, he'd struggled with gambling since his father, who had a gambling addiction, took him to a casino on his 19th birthday.

"Then he started to casually go to the casino here in Salmon Arm, and then over time he went more and more," the defence lawyer said.

In 2018, Hofer had himself excluded from all casinos in BC, but after a six-month gap, he went back.

"It became higher risk," the lawyer said.

Hofer took out loans to pay for his gambling and, in 2021, went bankrupt.

Still in his late 20s, he then stole the money from the casino.

He pleaded guilty to the fraud charge and choked back tears from his eyes as he addressed the judge.

"I'm not here to make excuses," Hofer told the court. "I would like to express how deeply sorry I am for my actions in stealing from the company that once trusted and employed me. I fully acknowledge the seriousness of what I did, and I take complete responsibility for the harm that I have caused."

Hofer spoke about his gambling addiction and said he'd betrayed not only his employer but his colleagues.

"I understand that my actions have had real consequences," he said. "This is not who I want my son to grow up knowing as a father."

He said he wanted a chance to rebuild the trust that he had destroyed and was getting counselling. He turned up to court with a cheque for $27,200 to pay the money back. He'd borrowed it from family.

In a joint submission, lawyers asked for a sentence of nine months of house arrest.

Judge Patterson highlighted that Hofer had used his own work account while under video surveillance and took no steps to hide the fraud.

"Frankly, had he not been in the throes of his own gambling addiction, he would have been able to take a step backwards and say, 'Boy, that's a dumb idea, I know I'm going to get caught,'" the judge said. "(He) came to a point in his life where he stopped thinking about the consequences of his gambling."

"I'm glad you got to 30 without a criminal record," Judge Patterson said.

Hofer was sentenced to three months under a 21 hours-a-day house arrest followed by a six-month 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and 25 hours of community service, and 18 months' probation.

"Good luck moving forward," the Judge told Hofer. "Now go home and hug your wife and kid."

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