A Sydney based bookkeeper employed by luxury cruise line Silversea was handed an eight-year prison sentence for a ‘sophisticated’ fraud that netted $3.7 million.
Mary Ann Abellanoza, 53 was convicted of seven counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deceit.
She siphoned off funds over the course of five years by creating false vendor accounts.
Part of her role was to manage payments to suppliers.
She made a total of 236 payments to herself via seven separate bank accounts in a scheme that needed ‘considerable planning and sophistication,’ Judge Jane Culver said.
Abellanoza claimed she was ‘undervalued’ by her employer and stole the money to feed a gambling habit.
This was rejected by the judge who said she said only started gambling when the fraud began.
Judge Culver concluded the gambling was a way to launder the money.
"These figures don’t suggest this money was used in a bottomless pit of gambling. She was clearly putting money through gaming machines and then obtaining a cheque to launder the ill-gotten gains."
Abellanoza will spend at least five years behind bars before being considered for parole.
