Stratton Finance fraudster Duy Tan Ha jailed for stealing $568,874 to cover gambling addiction

A gambling addict accountant who punted large on anything and everything including sports and poker stole $568K from his ex-boss.

A scoundrel accountant stole $568,000 from his former employer to cover a crippling gambling addiction, a court has heard.

Duy Tan Ha, 32, was sentenced in the County Court to a minimum 21-month jail term after pleading guilty to a rolled-up charge of obtaining property by deception.

Ha ripped $568,874 while group accountant for Stratton Finance Pty Ltd via 394 bogus transactions between May 2017 and August 2018.

The fraudster, who was also treasurer of the Port Melbourne company’s social club, diddled the books and transferred company cash to his personal bank accounts.

Ha’s racket went kaput when a senior Stratton Finance bookkeeper detected an “unusual” $20,000 transfer to the social club account.

Ha admitted his skulduggery when interviewed by senior Stratton Finance staff in September 2018.

Ha, who was charged in October last year, told police he stole the money to cover a gambling addiction which included a single $50,000 bet.

Ha, who regularly punted $20,000 bets, said he scored a $700,000 gambling result but the winnings were “frittered” away on further gambling.

The defence submitted Ha began online sports gambling about 12 months before his offending commenced.

Ha, who quickly burned through $30,000 savings, started with small $5 and $10 bets but soon upped the ante with larger bets to increase his “windfall” and “achieve a sufficient level of emotional gratification”.

The court heard Ha was “consumed” with his gambling “obsession”.

Ha “always” watched sporting events and placed bets on his phone while at work or spending time with family and friends, the court heard.

Judge Douglas Trapnell said it was “concerning” Ha entered Crown poker tournaments after his offending was detected.

“Your offending required a degree of foresight and planning, and on each occasion, you made a conscious decision to commit a criminal offence,” Judge Trapnell said.

“You could have desisted at any stage, but you continued to defraud your employer until you were eventually detected.

“I also accept the prosecutor’s submission that you deliberately ‘exploited the system’ by transferring funds from the company’s bank account into the social club bank account, which did not require dual authority to withdraw funds.”

Judge Trapnell also said he was “gratified” Ha had ceased punting on online poker tournaments.

“Presumably, in prison you will not have access to gambling, and this may provide the circuit breaker necessary for you to rid yourself of this addiction for good,” Judge Trapnell said.

Ha, who graduated from Victoria Uni with an accounting, banking and finance degree, was jailed for a maximum three years.

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