Encompass Medical Centre in Mt Waverley forced to close after former CEO stole $229k
A mother says she stole hundreds of thousands from a family-run Mt Waverley medical centre — forcing it to lay off five staff while spiralling into liquidation — after her ice-addicted son and family received threats. But a judge wasn’t convinced of her remorse.
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A woman stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her employer, a family owned and run suburban medical centre, to pay her ice-addicted son’s drug debts, a court has heard.
Andrea Koukouravas, 44, pleaded guilty at the County Court earlier this month to two charges of theft after stealing $229,166.50 from her employer, Encompass Medical Centre in Blackburn Rd, Mt Waverley, over almost two years between April 2014 and early 2016.
The court heard the systematic thefts, which occurred when Koukouravas, the company’s former chief executive, diverted monthly rental payments of $9166 from the centre’s business account to her own personal bank account.
The centre was forced into liquidation as a result and had to lay off five staff members, the court heard.
In sentencing Koukouravas on February 24, Judge Frances Hogan said she doubted how genuinely remorseful Koukouravas was for her actions, despite the fact she’d since repaid the money she stole.
Koukouravas was paid $180,000 a year the time the offences took place and her lawyer told the court she felt forced to steal because of threats her son and her family had received as a result of his drug habit.
But Judge Hogan criticised Koukouravas for enabling her son’s self-destructive habit by giving him money when asked.
“As I commented during the plea hearing, if every parent of a drug-addicted child were to deal with this difficult issue by stealing from his or her employer in order to fund the drug habit, then this would have a very adverse effect upon the state of our economy,” Judge Hogan said.
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“I have reservations about how remorseful you actually are. When you gave evidence on oath, the overwhelming impression I gained was that you were self-pitying.”
Judge Hogan also said a psychologist’s report prepared for the court appeared to show Koukouravas had little empathy for her victims and she appeared to be more concerned about how her actions would impact her children and her future employment prospects than the people she defrauded.
Judge Hogan sentenced Koukouravas to four months’ jail and a two-year community corrections order.
She also ordered Koukouravas undertake 150 hours of unpaid community work upon her release from prison.