Sainsbury's programmer jailed for £73,000 Nectar card fraud

A former Sainsbury's lead analyst programmer has been jailed for stealing more than £73,000 in Nectar reward points.

James Stevenson was sentenced to 20 months in prison for fraud, but will be released after 10 months on licence.

Stevenson created and credited false accounts with about 14 million Nectar points, which have a monetary value of £73,207. To gain this amount he would have had to spend £7m at the supermarket.

He also admitted fraud by false representation for redeeming £8,120 of the points for shopping, on 9 October 2007.

Edward McKiernan, prosecuting, said, "There wasn't a proper check in place. He was a trusted employee, so no one was looking over his shoulder."

A Sainsbury's spokeswoman said, "Our internal systems to prevent fraud are very robust. When the actions of Mr Stevenson came to light, we took appropriate action and we are pleased that the legal process has now come to an end."