Darren Cartwright, 37, of Redruth in Cornwall has been sentenced to a community order with 150 hours unpaid work and has been ordered to pay £1,500 in costs after he was found guilty of taking £3,000 from his employer.
At Truro Crown Court, he denied stealing the money from a safe at Ocean BMW in Falmouth after a colleague sold a vehicle.
Ramsay Quaife, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said the payment was made on March 24 but two days later, staff realised the money had not yet been banked.
“That irregularity was discussed in the presence of this defendant,” said Mr Quaife.
“Moments later this defendant asked for the keys for the safe in order to apparently return a car key.
“He went to the safe alone and it was at that moment the prosecution say that he brazenly stole the £3,000 that was in the safe.”
Cartwright denied taking the money but his fingerprints were found on the money and envelope.
Judge Simon Carr said it had been a “remarkably stupid act” in a moment of madness.
