Agnes Pashen, 40, a dental nurse and bookkeeper at an Australian dental practice, was sentenced to at least nine months in jail after embezzling close to $200,000 from her employer — and continuing to steal even after the initial theft was discovered. Pashen worked for dentist Dr. James Davies for more than four years, during which time she overpaid her own wages, duplicated payments via internet banking, and issued unauthorized checks.
The fraud came to light when Dr. Davies's accountant, investigating the cause of the practice's financial difficulties, identified $143,500 in missing funds. Despite being confronted, Pashen continued the scheme while repeatedly promising daily to repay what she had taken. The sentencing judge noted the sustained nature of the deception as an aggravating factor.
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