Country manager Matthew Lane avoided jail for robbing Taiwan-based agricultural company of $350,000
A manager who ripped off his workplace $350,000 to fuel his gambling addiction won’t have to pay back a cent – and it’s not the first time he’s done it.
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A fraudster who ripped off his workplace $350,000 to fuel his gambling addiction won’t have to pay a cent back in compensation, a court has heard.
Matthew Lane, 50, avoided jail for harbouring a sinister secret while trusted by an international company with a significant responsibility.
During sentencing, the Adelaide Magistrates Court heard Lane was employed as the country manager of a Taiwan-based agricultural company with global offices in August 2015.
The court heard Lane, who was responsible for company finances and product distribution, was issued with a company debit card limited to business expenses.
The company requested sales reports from Lane in May 2016 and became concerned when Lane didn’t provide them and initiated an investigation – revealing significant discrepancies.
Lane admitted that many of the transactions on the company card were for personal use and not legitimate business transactions.
The court heard there were a number of cash withdrawals and transfers directly into his personal bank account, as well as purchases at retail and grocery stores.
The total amount of misappropriated company funds was $350,000.
The court heard Lane also deceived Aussie Farmers Group who made two payments totalling $18,480 for farming chemicals.
Aussie Farmers Group believed they were transferring money to the company, however Lane had provided them with his personal bank account.
The Carrickalinga father-of-four pleaded guilty to 11 counts of theft and one count of deception, replacing the 323 originally laid by police.
Prosecution pushed for an immediate jail term, due to the significant amount of money Lane stole and his deliberate breaches of trust.
The court heard Lane stole the money to fuel his long term gambling addiction, namely gaming machines and horse racing.
Lane began using gambling as a “haven” from the pressures of his job and was gambling everyday after work for two to five hours.
The court heard Lane had previously been convicted of similar offending – which included seven counts of embezzlement in 1997 after he stole money from his employer, Mitre 10 in Millicent.
Mr Millard sentenced Lane to three years jail, with a non-parole period of 18 months.
However, he said he found good reason to suspend Lane’s sentence, due to his significant rehabilitation efforts – which included treatment for his gambling addiction.
The sentence was suspended on a $1000, three-year good behaviour bond, with supervision for 12 months.
Lane won’t have to pay any compensation as the company has since been deregistered.
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