Tag: Australia

Australian bookkeeper charged with ‘substantial’ fraud

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Joker

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A TOOWOOMBA bookkeeper charged with what police claim to be “a substantial” fraud has appeared before the city’s Magistrates Court.

During a brief mention of the case yesterday, Jason Andrew McWilliam was not called upon to enter any pleas to three counts of “stealing by clerks and servants,”as the charges appeared on the court list.

While the amounts of money involved were not aired in court, Officer in Charge of Toowoomba’s Criminal Investigation Branch, Detective Senior Sergeant Paul McCusker confirmed the case involved “a substantial amount of money” from each of three complainants.

The three complainant companies are all Toowoomba-based, he said.

The Chronicle understands the bookkeeper transferred $60,000 from one client’s account into his own for personal use and that the other two complainants also claim tens of thousands of dollars had been transferred from their accounts.

It is believed a Toowoomba-based dental surgery reported the missing funds to police after being notified of back taxes owed to the Australian Tax Office.

The 45-year-old, who is believed to have overseen the dental practice’s daily financial transactions when working for an accountancy firm in Toowoomba, was charged last month after an official fraud investigation.

The defendant was represented in court by Toowoomba legal firm MacDonald Law and an adjournment was sought.

Magistrate Catherine Pirie remanded McWilliam on bail and adjourned the case for mention back in the same court on September 27.

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Australian woman jailed for seven years after siphoning almost $1 million from boss

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Tina Maree Bartlem
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A GOLD Coast mother who previously lived with her in-laws has been jailed for seven years for siphoning almost $800,000 from her boss.

She said she did it to win over her father’s “love”. Tina Maree Bartlem, 35, transferred money from Robina Town Dental into her own account at least 250 times over three years while working as practice manager. On Friday, she was sentenced in the Southport District Court to seven years jail after pleading guilty to several counts of fraud totalling $724,966.53 in 2008-2011. Bartlem’s fraud was not discovered until 2014. She will be released on parole in September 2019. A psychological report revealed Bartlem began stealing the money to help out her late father, Grahame Colwell, who allegedly lost everything through a Nigerian scam. Bartlem also used business credit cards to buy three nights accommodation at a Peppers hotel and personalised licence plates, court documents show. The mother of one told a psychiatrist she went on holidays to New Zealand and Hawaii with her family but was “at a loss to understand where all the money went”. She told a psychiatrist she could not specifically remember transferring the money to her father “other than giving her father money to ‘love me’”. She also conceded “maybe” she gambled the money. The Ashmore woman described her relationship with her father as “dysfunctional”. “I love him dearly but as a child, and adult, I never experienced unconditional love from him,” she wrote. “I am horrified by my actions in terms of the charges against me. To this day I have no memory of taking the amount of funds.” Documents showed Bartlem’s ex-husband of more than a decade did not know his wife was stealing. “He indicated … they were ‘never rolling in cash’.” Mr Bartlem was surprised to learn she worked only part-time “as she went to work everyday and he was a stay-at-home dad to their daughter”. A psychiatric report revealed Bartlem claimed she heard voices of two other woman. She attended a Gold Coast Baptist church, also studied counselling and said she wanted her life to “mean something”. Former Robina Town Dental owner Alistair Henry said the practice was sold in 2011 because they believed it was struggling financially. “We haven’t received a cent and want to warn other small business owners that someone who comes across as quite trustworthy can totally abuse your trust,” said Mr Henry. Defence lawyer Mark Donnelly, of Kroesen and Co Lawyers, said his client was “very remorseful and had taken a lot of steps to turn her life around”.
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Content retrieved from http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/crime-court/gold-coast-mum-jailed-for-seven-years-after-siphoning-almost-1-million-from-boss/news-story/14e6bdbd506966e75c07bdee21266c75

A Major Australian Embezzlement

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Joker

Former practice manager Tina Bartlam, worked at practice for 12 years and stole over $750k from practice.  She was sentenced to two years in prison.

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Australian woman admits embezzling $320,000 from dentist

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A Balgownie woman has confessed to stealing almost $320,000 from the dental surgery where she worked for nearly a decade.

Daniette Paulissen, 34, was ordered to front court in May 2016 after she was charged with stealing property as a clerk stemming from her time working for the owners of Corrimal dental surgery Contemporary Smiles, owned by dentists Barry Phelan and Kurt Dean.

Court documents reveal Paulissen was employed at the surgery when Dr Phelan and Dr Dean purchased the business in 2009.

They retained Paulissen’s services, employing her in a financial management role that saw her responsible for the surgery’s weekly banking, liaising with accountants, paying staff their weekly wages and splitting surgery profits between the two owners.

As part of her job, Paulissen had signature and transfers rights for the company’s bank accounts, which she operated online.

In January last year, Dr Phelan’s accountant identified a number of irregular transactions.

Following an investigation, it was revealed Paulissen had used her own passwords and log-in details to transfer a total of $319,121 from the company bank account into her own personal Illawarra Credit Union accounts between 2011 and 2016.

The matter was reported to police, who spoke with Paulissen in March last year at Wollongong Police Station. She declined a formal interview.

Investigating officers served court attendance notices on her lawyer the following month.

Paulissen originally pleaded not guilty to the charge, however, changed her plea in court recently.

The magistrate ordered a full options report ahead of her sentencing in May.

It is understood Dr Phelan and Dr Dean are seeking compensation for the outstanding amount.

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Content retrieved from http://www.edenmagnet.com.au/story/4524417/employee-admits-stealing-320k-from-dentist/?cs=2452

Australian embezzlement — police seized embezzler’s BMW

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TODAY (Friday) was supposed to be a “bitter sweet” day for Radio 4CC promotions manager Sommer Price, with a post on Facebook saying she was due to drive out of Gladstone for the “very” last time.

Instead Price, 30, will have to stick around a little longer after Gladstone CIB seized her car on Thursday and charged her with a number of fraud offences, stealing, computer hacking, falsification of records, misappropriation of money and a minor drug offence.

Police will allege that Price pocketed $50,000 from her employer when she worked at a dentist in Gladstone.

Police searched Price’s home yesterday morning and seized cash, banking statements and her 2010 BMW, estimated to be worth $25,000.

Officer in charge, Detective Sergeant Chris Lindsay, said the alleged offences occurred between June 2014 and September 2015.

It’s understood police will allege Price altered business records.

In a post on her Facebook page on Tuesday Price wrote: “Friday marks a very bitter sweet day for me, as I will drive out of Gladstone for the very last time.”

“Yes I know very quick and random.

“I came to Gladstone with love in my heart, and I am truly grateful for the friends I have made,” it was posted.

Police records show the woman had lived in Boyne Island in 2002 before moving to Rockhampton and then returning to Gladstone in 2012.

Price had resigned from her position at 4CC at the time of her arrest. A statement from radio station 4CC said it had no knowledge of any alleged activities.

Price was charged Thursday night and was given bail with strict reporting conditions.

She is due to appear in Gladstone magistrates court on 12 July.

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An Australian Embezzlement: Woman jailed for stealing from dentist to feed gambling habit

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A WOMAN who pilfered close to $200,000 from her employers to feed her pokies habit, continuing to embezzle even after her thefts were discovered, has been jailed for at least nine months.

Mother of two Agnes Pashen, 40, told dentist Dr James Davies almost daily that she would repay the $143,500 she stole after his accountant, while investigating the reason behind the dental practice’s financial failings, discovered the missing money.

Over more than four years, the dental nurse and bookkeeper overpaid her own wages, duplicated payments using internet banking and wrote unauthorized cheques.

She blew the money on pokies and house repayments, the County Court heard. Chief Judge Michael Rozenes said Pashen committed a “serious breach of trust” and continued to thieve, even after Dr Davies allowed her to continue working for him with certain conditions.

During that time, Pashen did book work for a plumber, from whom she stole more than $37,000, bringing the total amount stolen to $181,221.

The plumber reported the thefts to police, who later discovered she had been stealing from the dental practice.

Pashen pleaded guilty to six counts of theft, representing the more than 200 times she stole from the businesses.

Defence counsel Kenneth Oldis said his client had a tough upbringing and suffered depression and anxiety as a result.

He said the Mill Park woman was “frozen with terror” about the prospect of jail time.

Judge Rozenes said the thefts from two small businesses were too serious to warrant any other sentence than immediate imprisonment.

“Thefts by employees are pernicious and particularly so in small businesses, where levels of scrutiny are usually low and hence much reliance is placed on the integrity of trusted staff,” Judge Rozenes said.

The judge said this type of offending was also notoriously difficult to detect and could have deleterious consequences to the ongoing viability of the business, as it did in this case.

Dr Davies told the court his business reputation had been affected by the deception, as well as his credit rating and his hopes of a self-funded retirement.

The judge acknowledged Pashen – who had one unrelated prior – had good prospects of rehabilitation and was unlikely to re-offend.

He sentenced her to two years imprisonment, with a nonparole period of nine months.

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Content retrieved from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/woman-jailed-for-stealing-from-employer-to-feed-pokies-habit/story-fni0fee2-1226759143036