Florida gambling helpline director sentenced to nearly 10 years over $1.4m theft to fund addiction

Philip Sullivan, who sought to rebuild his life after gambling addiction, convicted of stealing from real-estate employer

A Florida man who stole more than $1m from his employer to bankroll a gambling problem - before becoming the director of his state's gambling addiction helpline in trying to make amends - was recently sentenced to nearly a decade in prison.

Bay county, Florida, authorities charged Philip Sullivan in March 2024 with stealing $1.4m from the Panama City Beach real-estate company for which he was the chief financial officer, Royal American, as local news outlets WMBB and WJHG had previously reported.