Scoundrel Frankston mum Joanne Peters stole $200,000 from Coldflow Australia Pty Ltd
A scoundrel Frankston mum rorted her former boss then blew most of the cash down at the pokies. Now she has to face the music.
South East
Don't miss out on the headlines from South East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
A woman who fleeced $200,000 from her former employer before burning the dough on the pokies has avoided a jail stint.
Joanne Peters, 51, was sentenced in the County Court on Tuesday to a three-year suspended jail term after pleading guilty to a rolled-up charge of theft.
Peters rorted $200,000 from her ex-employer Coldflow Australia Pty Ltd via 60 bogus transactions between August 2011 and August 2012.
The devious fraudster funnelled the cash into her own bank accounts and accounts held by family including her husband and son.
Almost $50,000 of the stolen cash was withdrawn from ATMs at gaming venues, the court heard.
The scoundrel mum began thieving just three weeks after commencing employment at the Springvale-based company.
Peters, who earned $88,000 as Coldflow’s group credit controller, was also paid $12,000 while she offended.
The fraudster masked her skulduggery by manipulating accounting records.
Coldflow Chief Financial Officer Andrew Wolf questioned Peters after detecting suspicious transactions.
Mr Wolf gave the scoundrel the “benefit of the doubt” but the eagle-eyed manager’s suspicions remained so he shifted Peters to a different department.
Peters claimed she lost some money “on the way to the bank” but was “too embarrassed” to tell anyone.
Mr Wolf sacked the fraudster on the spot after she admitted taking $40,000.
Peters “conceded” she stole $125,000 but had “lost track” the exact amount.
Peters claimed she used the money to help others, to pay back her parents and to pay for a back operation for her mother.
Peters agreed to repay the money at another meeting she attended with her husband, Adrian Peters, in December 2012.
Mr Peters asked that no criminal proceedings be initiated against his wife if they signed a deed of acknowledgment but this request was denied.
Peters ceased communication with Coldflow not long after this meeting.
Coldflow reported Peters to police in February 2013.
A lengthy police investigation revealed $72,362 had been deposited into the accounts operated by Peters and her husband.
A further $14,100.00 was deposited into accounts operated by Peters’ parents and $1,480 was deposited into her son’s account.
The court heard $47,840 was withdrawn via 244 transactions at gaming venues.
Police hauled Peters in for an interview October 2018 but she wasn’t charged until April last year.
Mr Wolf, who read his victim impact statement to the court, said Peters had “tormented” Coldflow and its employees.
“To say I am extremely disappointed in Mrs Peters is an understatement and do I think she is remorseful for any of her actions committing the crime and being caught, I can honestly say in my opinion absolutely not,” Mr Wolf said.
“Peters, tormented us with hollow promises …
“It further loathes me that Mrs Peters (who received good salary and bonuses) … was not satisfied this was enough as a moral obligation to uphold her position of trust but rather continued her spree of ongoing theft with vigour.
“The enormity of the theft and the financial impact on the group following was so confronting on all levels it provided many sleepless nights for myself and the owners, pondering how we would be able to recover from this and how a person in such a senior position could look you in the eye day in day out knowing they have been so deceitful and dishonest.”
The court heard Peters had been employed with the ANZ bank for 15 years then worked for a friend’s construction company after the offending was detected.
Peters, who lived in Mornington but now rents in Frankston, currently earns $60,000 per year working in administration.
Judge Wendy Wilmoth said Peters and her husband gambled together but Peters hasn’t gambled for five years.
