A 54-year-old bookkeeper has been sentenced to three years and four months jail for stealing nearly $750,000 from two employers over more than a decade.
Kathleen Margaret Griffiths was sentenced in the Bunbury District Court in Western Australia on Monday after pleading guilty to stealing as a servant.
Judge David MacLean said it was difficult to understand the motivation of a woman described as a well-respected community member, mother, wife and friend.
Griffiths used several tactics to embezzle money from her employers between 2005-2006 and 2018, including falsifying invoices.
In total, Griffiths stole $683,800 from Busselton business Globe Signs and about $54,000 from Dunsborough Post Office.
The court heard the offending started as early as 2005 when she took $1,700 from Globe Signs.
She took increasing amounts of money from Globe Signs, peaking when she took $137,562 in 2015–16.
Between 2015 and 2018, she stole about $55,000 from Dunsborough Post Office.
Displaying compulsive behaviour
Judge Maclean said it appeared to be compulsive behaviour that had developed into a habit, and Griffiths was unaware of just how much she had taken.
He said she stole on more than 1,000 "discrete" occasions over 12 years but there was no obvious single reason behind it, noting she did not previously have a criminal record.
"On surface you are valuable. Behind the scene some unhappiness causes you to act contrary to your values," Judge Maclean said.
"It was a quiet, sustained rebellion against authority."
The court heard Griffiths actions had severely affected her employers' viability, and prompted them to take out loans to pay staff.
Judge Maclean said the victims had suffered deeply as a result, reporting ongoing anxiety and effects on their health.
"You can't put a figure on that," he said.
Seeking a different life for family
During sentencing on Monday, the court heard Griffiths felt poorer than her peers while growing up, and wanted to bring her children up differently.
The court heard her sons attended a private school in Busselton, and she was president of the school's swimming club.
The family had a modest income, and her husband had worked as a firefighter, as well as running a lawn-mowing business.
Defence lawyer Rhonda Parks said her client had written to apologise to the victims.
She had also paid back $250,000 to Globe Signs after selling her house.
Ms Parks said references showed Griffiths was a "highly valued wife, mother and friend", and a respected community member.
Her son Jack stated the offending was so far out character he still struggled to believe it was true.
Ordered to pay back money
Prosecutor Gary Huggins told the court Griffiths had repeatedly reassured her clients that they were "fine" financially while simultaneously stealing from them.
He said she had full access to her employers' bank accounts and the thefts had only been discovered when an accountant scrutinised the records.
Griffiths will be eligible for parole in just under two years and has been ordered to pay back $450,000 to Globe Signs, and $55,000 to the owners of the Dunsborough post office.
