She Stole to Shop
As a followup to my previous article about compulsive spending I ran across an article in today’s
Salt Lake Tribune about a woman who claims a shopping addiction made her steal over $240,000 from the family owned business where she worked. Last year alone she stole over $50,000 from the small towing and auto repair shop. The 40-year-old was sentenced to 15 years, and was ordered to repay the money. Of course, it’s all been spent.
In this case, the judge didn’t buy her “shopaholic” defense.
1st District Judge Thomas Willmore countered: “Shopping is not an addiction. Deal with it on that level and don’t blame it on something in your mind.”
I disagree with the judge’s comment – I do believe some people are seriously addicted to spending money. I go back to the article I cited from WebMd to point out that for many, many people, shopping and spending money is a behavior that gets completely out of control. This is obviously the case with this woman. However, many shopping addicts have wiped out their checking and savings accounts, gone into serious debt, and lost their homes and marriages but have never resorted to actually stealing money from someone to support their habit.
Bottom line: Do I believe she had a problem? YES. Do I think her claim of shopping addiction should have led to an acquittal? NO.
Shopping Addiction, Salt Lake Tribune, Woman Stole to Shop
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