SkyCity dealer who stole $45,000 from casino dodges prison, gets home detention

Chandra Reddy has raised $10,000 through his family which he can repay to SkyCity immediately. Photo / File

The casino dealer who helped steal more than $45,000 from SkyCity by overpaying two of his associates has escaped a prison sentence.

Chandra Reddy, 34, of Mt Roskill, was sentenced in the Auckland District Court this afternoon for his role in the scam after pleading guilty to 16 charges of theft via a person in a special relationship.

Reddy started working at the casino in April last year and his lawyer, Scott Bricknell, said the offending began when financial pressures started mounting with a new baby on the way and family back home in India needing money.

Reddy's associates, Hirenkumar Amin, 24, and Rajini Kanthreddy Suskandla, 26, knew which hours he worked and which table he would be at.

In court documents read by Judge Neville Dawson, Reddy would arrange for chips with larger denominations, such as $500, to be placed between $5 chips and then hide the richer chips among the smaller ones. He would also overpay his friends.

In total, the theft amounted to $45,670 which took place between December and January of this year before it was uncovered by SkyCity's surveillance team.

Brickell read an apology from Reddy in which he said he'd created an "uncomfortable situation" with SkyCity because he broke the trust.

He called his offending embarrassing and accepted that the consequences were large.

"I'm very sorry for my actions," Reddy said in the letter.

Reddy had also raised $10,000 through his family which he could repay to SkyCity today and was able to make reparations of $50 a week.

Judge Dawson said there were several aggravating factors in the offending, including the amount stolen and that it was premeditated.

"It's theft pure and simple."

But he accepted Reddy was remorseful and unlikely to reoffend so gave him a discount from the starting sentence of two years, six months in prison.

He said Reddy would also be punishing the victim, SkyCity, if he was unable to work and so make reparation payments.

Reddy was sentenced to nine months home detention with allowances to go to work and was ordered to pay $50 a week starting on September 1.