A Mt Barker bookkeeper who secretly siphoned more than $160,000 from her employer over a 15-month period has avoided an immediate jail term.
Karen Anne Webb, 61, stole $163,061 from her workplace Plantagenet Sheds and Steel, in 17 installments through her position as the company’s clerk, wherein she managed the staff payroll, invoices and outgoing payments.
The business is now known as Plantagenet Construction Group and Webb worked for them for seven years.
The offending — which involved Webb digitally transferring money from the company bank account to her own personal account — spanned 15 months from December 20, 2023 to April 30, 2025.
Albany Magistrates Court heard that the owner of Plantagenet Sheds and Steel became suspicious of the unusual financial activity in July and conducted an audit, which revealed the scale of theft.
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Webb had already begun repaying the stolen money through her superannuation before her arrest, but made full admissions to the offending when interviewed by police.
She pleaded guilty to all 17 charges of stealing as a servant on September 11.
Speaking in defence of the 61-year-old on Thursday, lawyer Elizabeth Hamilton said Webb had been let go from the company before her offending came to light due to an unrelated argument with the owner.
Ms Hamilton said the entire amount has now been repaid in full.
She said Webb was struggling financially as her partner had lost his job just before the thefts began and the money was used to support the couple in their day-to-day lives.
Ms Hamilton said the crimes has left Ms Webb ostracised in the small Mt Barker community and she was no longer able to volunteer or socialise with the groups she was previously welcomed in.
She acknowledged that the “serious” crimes “struck at the heart of trust” between an employer and an employee, given that Webb had worked there for several years.
“It was such a level of trust that the owner never checked anything in terms of money,” Ms Hamilton said.
Police prosecutor Sgt Warrick Walker said the sustained nature and “high level” of the theft warranted a term of imprisonment, which magistrate Erin O’Donnell agreed with.
Taking into account her lack of criminal record, early pleas of guilty and voluntarily repayment of the money, Ms O’Donnell sentenced Webb to eight months imprisonment, suspended for six months.
https://thewest.com.au/news/albany-advertiser/former-bookkeeper-karen-anne-webb-avoids-immediate-jail-for-160k-theft-from-mt-barker-business–c-20970160
