Teenager jailed for £17,000 spending spree after he was massively overpaid by his company

LONDON - A teenager who was paid €19,639 (£17,036) instead of €196.36 (£170) due to an accounting error was jailed for four years on Wednesday after going on a spending spree, the Daily Mirror reports.

Karl Smith, who worked two days for Industrial Insulation Specialists, was paid 100 times what he was entitled to because of a misplaced decimal point.

Smith was jailed for theft as he failed to report the error and spent the cash. None of the money has been recovered.

Dublin Criminal Court heard how he spent the money on a PlayStation, drugs, and a bed, among other things.

Smith's lawyer argued that his client felt like "all his prayers had been answered" when he called the bank and was told about the money in his account, as he had a €1,000 drug debt at the time.

He also said that Smith had thought it was a banking error and only found out weeks later the money had come from his former boss - although he accepted he knew from the start he was not entitled to it.

Smith, who was arrested while already in prison where he was serving a sentence for assault, pleaded guilty to the theft. He had 17 previous convictions for theft, assault, making threats, and criminal damage.

The judge sentenced Smith to four years in prison, two of which were suspended. She said she understood that he had been " particularly vulnerable" when he received the money but that the substantial theft had "undoubtedly" had some effect on Smith's former boss's company Industrial Insulation Specialists.