Boozehound scoundrel Kailyn Brown jailed for stealing $120,000 from Box Hill Dental boss
A serial scoundrel who smashed vodka while spinning away $120,000 on the pokies – money she stole from her Box Hill Dental clinic boss – has been bounced into jail for what her victim termed an “awful betrayal”.
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A boozehound scoundrel who stole more than $120,000 from her boss before blowing the lot on gambling has been jailed.
Kailyn Brown, 34, was sentenced in the County Court on Wednesday to six months’ jail after pleading guilty to theft.
Brown was employed as the Box Hill Dental practice manager when she thieved $120,043 between July 2015 and August 2019.
Brown, who started at the practice as a dental nurse in 2013, was “entrusted” with banking, general admin and receiving customer payments.
Brown handled almost $200,000 in customers payments made in cash or cheque during the offending period.
Brown funnelled $58,647 into her own bank accountant while a further $61,396 could not be “accounted for”.
Brown’s skulduggery ended after the clinic’s owner Linda Watts asked her accountant to check the books ahead of a possible sale.
The accountant immediately detected the fraud.
Ms Watts contacted Brown on September 12 but the fraudster did not respond to calls or messages nor did she ever return to work.
Police launched “Operation Molar-2019” to snare the rogue manager.
Investigators interviewed Brown on November 25.
Brown said she quit the practice on September 12 due to “mental health problems”, was unable to explain the “banking discrepancies” and made “no comment” regarding the theft.
The court was told Brown – who has priors for stealing cash from a former poultry shop boss – stole from her boss for “fun”.
A lengthy cross-examination of a community corrections officer revealed the fun Brown was talking about was her spiralling addiction to gambling.
The court heard Brown binge drank vodka on weekends and splurged her stolen dough on gambling.
The serial fraudster obtained a Crown Casino platinum card which she used while spinning away cash on the pokies during “heavy-drinking” sessions.
Brown, from Southbank, said gambling was an “escape mechanism” to “regulate her emotions”.
Ms Watts said, in her victim impact statement, that she had treated Brown “like a daughter”.
“After realising the scale of the lies, betrayal and deceit that was done for three years at my practice we were in complete disbelief and shocked,” Ms Watts said.
“She was often very sick and we were always supporting and concerned about her … we did not deserve this, she let us down big time and made us very depressed for many months after she disappeared.
“We all work hard for our money and now knowing how some terrible people take advantage of people who actually cared for her is just awful.
“Too much sadness, deception, lies and broken trust, how could such people exist in this world … unbelievable”
Judge Mark Gamble said Brown’s offending was “unacceptable”.
“This offending was troubling indeed and involved repeated acts of dishonesty and some planning,” he said.
“There remains, in my view, a need to effect some measure of personal deterrence on Ms Brown, particularly given her relevant criminal history.
“She must clearly understand that the consequences for her behaving in this or any similar manner in the future will be very serious.
Brown was also handed a two-year-community correction order and must perform 100 hours of unpaid community work.
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