Kylee Pryor: Former accountant escapes jail time for defrauding Lake Macquarie business of $200K
A Hunter woman – who in 2018 was jailed for fraud before being released on an appeal – has been lucky not to be jailed for fraud offences totalling more than $200,000 against the same victim, as she offers assistance to police in their investigation.
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A Lake Macquarie woman has again dodged time behind bars for defrauding a Lake Macquarie business, as police investigate another person allegedly involved.
Accountant fraudster Kylee Pryor, 50, pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception when she defrauded Farrell Transport while working at Valley Accounting and Taxation Services (VATS) in Cardiff.
Police facts detail how between 2011 and 2016, Pryor conducted 178 electronic transaction unlawfully — totalling $201,105 — from Farrell Transport to Metal Steel Haulage (MTH), before transferring the money into several personal accounts.
The court heard police are still trying to investigate another person believed to be involved, with Pryor agreeing to assist them in their investigation. No-one has yet been charged.
Previously convicted in November 2018 for similar offences again involving Farrell Transport, Pryor was lucky to be spared jail on appeal and given an intensive corrections order (ICO).
She was removed as a tax agent and ordered to pay back $241,161, which she did.
In Toronto Local Court on Monday, Pryor’s solicitor John Anthony said there were no prospects of compensation to be made by his client this time.
But while Magistrate Andrew Eckhold felt Pryor’s offence was driver by “greed” and “resentment” for what was happening at the workplace, he felt full time imprisonment would not help to get any money back for the victim.
He made a compensation order and sentenced Pryor to an 18 month ICO and 300 hours of community service.
Flanked by supporters she hurriedly left the local court, unwilling to comment on the verdict.
Police facts revealed the owner of Farrell Transport was of the belief Pryor – who handled the MTH account – had closed it down, but instead she continued to pay annual fees to keep the business going.
It wasn’t until 2016, when the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) moved the business into liquidation because it had not paid any taxes, Pryor was caught out and was asked to resign from VATS the following year.
Police facts stated Pryor did admit to transferring money over a period of time but put the blame on her employer, saying she believed they was handling Farrell Transport in a manner that would see them go bankrupt, and was doing it as a favour to Farrell.
She also said she didn’t receive any financial benefit from the offences.