A British Army soldier has been booted out of the military after stealing his colleagues bank card in order to buy points on FIFA for his Xbox.
Private Lewis Billam purchased £216 ($298) of virtual currency to use on the football video game using a card that belonged to colleague Private Megan Martin, which he stole at a party.
The 27-year-old bought three packs of points that cost £71.99 ($99.64) per time on Martin's card, but this is far from the first time Billam has stolen from his comrades.
The £71.99 packs offer players 12,000 points that can be used to buy things in the game such as 'FUT' - Fifa Ultimate Team' packs or 'FUT Drafts', which allow players to choose the best fit for each position from a five-player choice.
On top of that, he also used Pvt Martin's card to purchase £16 ($22) worth of stuff from a local garage.
Billam was caught out when everyone who attended the party in March 2020 at which the offence took place was gathered and asked to reveal their Xbox history.
When he revealed his account, it became clear he had made the three purchases on Martin's card.
Before that, he'd used another colleague's card to buy £227 ($314) worth of items from Tesco.
In August 2019, Billam took the card belonging to Lance Corporal Joshua Gibbon and asked if he could borrow his card in order to buy a drink and some cigarettes, promising that the card would be returned afterwards.
However, instead of buying the low cost items he'd mentioned, he bought something worth £101 ($139) and another item that cost £126 ($174).
Bulford Military Court was told that Private Billam's excessive consumption of alcohol had led to him having little to no cash of his own in the past.
Judge Advocate General Alistair McGrigor told Billam he was to be discharged from the army because they have no interest in retaining his services.
He said: "Soldiers who steal from colleagues undermine the respect and comradeship that is the basis of service life."
Billam, who served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, said he 'sincerely apologised' for his actions after pleading guilty to three counts of fraud.
He told the court: "The things that I did were not acceptable and I do sincerely apologise."
On top of his discharge from the army, Billam was ordered to pay the full amount of money he stole back to Martin and Gibbon, as well as a 12-month community order and 30 days of rehab activity requirement.
Featured Image Credit: Solent News and Photo AgencyTopics: UK News, army, Money, crime, Weird