Tasmanian woman loses AU$940,221 from employer
Tasmanian woman loses AU$940,221 from employer to fund gambling addiction
A Tasmanian woman stole AU$ 940,221 from her employer to fund her gambling addiction over three years. She used the money to run a slot machine on Facebook purely for entertainment. The woman faces up to six years in prison.
48-year-old Rachel Naomi Perri from Tasmania was told in December that she must serve six years in prison. The judge came to this decision because she made 475 fraudulent transactions with her employer Tasmanian Veterinary Services. Between 2016 and 2019, she siphoned off AU$940,221.
The woman used the money to fund her gambling addiction, Yahoo reports. She gambled away all the money on an online slot machine on Facebook. The slot machine in question was “Heart of Vegas,” where you cannot win real money. Instead, you buy virtual coins or credits that can never be converted into real money in this game.
On Thursday, her lawyer, Greg Barns, told the court that she was highly addicted. She allowed the game to play automatically at night, only to resume playing when she woke up.
No reduction in sentence due to gambling addiction
Her lawyer argued that the game had reduced the Tasmanian woman’s moral guilt because her gambling addiction was of extreme proportions. He asked the court for a reduction in sentence and possible early release. The Tasmanian court rejected this request.
The opposing lawyers stated that Perri had committed fraud over a long period. She had also violated the trust of her employer. Therefore they felt that a reduction in sentences would not be appropriate.
Perri siphoned off the money in various ways. First, she made payments for the company to creditors. Then, however, she changed the account number to her accounts to credit the money.
In the first few years, the fraud was not picked up by external auditors who went through the figures at the end of each financial year. However, in August 2019, strange transactions were found, leading to a thorough investigation. As a result, auditors eventually uncovered the fraud of the gambling-addicted woman from Tasmania.
In addition to the AU$940,221 from her boss, Perri also gambled away more than AU$24,000 via credit card fraud.