Business owner’s thieving habit rumbled by two eBay accounts

Tomas Sasnauskas avoided jail term

A business owner who swiped items from a construction company to sell on eBay was rumbled after he was caught out on CCTV. Tomas Sasnauskas, 39, was director of Prestige Partition Ltd, who were employed by a larger firm in a construction project.

The larger firm, Bluegyp Ltd, often ordered materials from distributors to be delivered for projects. However, when the owner was alerted to a suspicious eBay account selling his items, Sasnauskas' deceit came to light.

Over two years, Sasnauskas stole items totalling almost £38,000, Manchester Crown Court heard. During the investigation, CCTV footage revealed him putting items to one side, before later collecting it and hiding it beneath his coat.

Two eBay accounts were attributed to Sasnauskas and he accepted the thefts.

Prosecuting, Olivia Gatfield said John Marrin, director of Bluegyp, first received a phone call in March 2023 from a supplier telling him to look at an eBay page where items from the company were being sold.

“Mr Marrin checked and identified two accounts selling the items. Various items came from the site and were being sold on two accounts, namely North Fixings Ltd and 012345,” she said.

“Mr Marrin identified the defendant as the owner of the eBay accounts by checking the watermarks of the images, which had previously been sent to him by the defendant.”

He reviewed the CCTV footage showing Sasnauskas swiping the items before instructing a colleague to do a ‘test purchase’. They contacted the account about some listed items before meeting with the seller.

“The seller said there were lots of items to sell if he needed anything else. The interaction was videoed, and Mr Marrin was able to identify the defendant,” Ms Gatfield added.

The contract between firms was halted before the eBay accounts were taken down. The total cost of items sold by the two accounts was £37,860.

Sasnauskas was arrested and interviewed, and said in a prepared statement that he worked for the company and did private work on the side. He added that he bought and sold builder materials and any items found in his house were not stolen.

He later admitted theft by an employee.

In a statement, Mr Marrin said: “This incident has left me very disappointed in the trade. We had a good relationship at the time, I never expected they could do something like this.

“It has affected how I trust people. It has added pressure and stress for my staff and I.”

Defending, Richard Vardon said his client ‘deeply regrets’ his actions.

“He has a stable life to go to, though this has caused strain in the marriage,” he said.

Mr Vardo said the dad-of-one, a Lithuanian national, had worked hard to form his own business which was successful.

“He decided to steal items from the side that he felt were going to waste, he noticed nobody checked the losses and continued to steal and it became a habit. He is genuinely ashamed,” he added.

Sasnauskas, of Chestnut Drive, Bury, was handed 12 months suspended for two years, with 10 rehabilitation activity requirements days and 100 hours unpaid work.

Sentencing, Judge Hilary Manley said: “This was a mean and low offence committed against a blameless company.”

He was ordered to pay the money stolen back to the company.

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