Gambling helpline director sentenced to prison for past theft

Abstract

A man whose gambling addiction led him to steal $1 million from his employer, then to make amends by running a gambling helpline, has nevertheless been sentenced to a decade in prison for the 2024 theft. Philip Sullivan, 43, was director of the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling hotline after he lost his job with Royal American, a real estate company where he was chief financial officer. He was charged in March 2024 with stealing $1.4 million from that company. He pleaded no contest this month, and Florida state judge Timothy Register sentenced him to prison. Character witnesses for Sullivan testified in court that the gambling addiction came after he was prescribed Adderall, a stimulant approved to treat attention deficit disorder.