Former Stephenson Transport bookkeeper Katie Davey stole $700,000 to fund online gambling addiction: Court

A gambling degenerate took her ex-partner’s Gippsland transport company to the cleaners to bankroll her online slots addiction.

Former Stephenson Transport bookkeeper Katie Davey stole $700,000 to fund online gambling addiction

A degenerate gambling junkie ripped more than $700,000 from her ex-partner’s company to fund a crippling online slots addiction.

Katie Davey, 43, pleaded guilty in the County Court on Friday to multiple rolled-up obtain financial advantage by deception charges.

The mum grifted $706,586 via 1109 bogus transactions while employed at her former partner’s Gippsland-based company Stephenson Transport.

The court heard Davey diddled account records to fleece the cash into her personal bank accounts between March 2014 and April 2016.

Davey, the former company book keeper, used the stolen dough for “personal expenses”, but the bulk of the stolen cash was sunk via online gambling.

Davey — who began working at Stephenson Transport in 2007 — rorted a further $30,971 via a company credit card which she plonked on online bets.

The scoundrel’s racket began to unravel in September 2015 after a meeting between Davey, her ex-partner and an accountant.

The accountant warned the pair Stephenson Transport’s tax bill had ballooned to between $400,000 and $440,000.

The court heard Davey and her ex-partner’s relationship “deteriorated” following the meeting and they eventually split in April 2016.

The Commonwealth Bank later contacted the ex-partner to inform him the company credit card had been used for online gambling.

The pair — who had begun dating in 2003 — argued over the credit card but the ex-partner still kept Davey on as a casual employee until March 2017.

Stephenson Transport employed a new financial manager in December 2017 who later uncovered Davey’s skulduggery.

The matter was reported to police in December 2018.

The 43-year-old told investigators she blew most of the cash on online slot machines and that she had a “gambling problem”.

The court heard Davey had made efforts to repay the stolen money.

Davey currently works as an office manager where she has “implemented processes to increase transparency in financial procedures”, the court was told.

Davey will be sentenced at a later date.