Accountant Jason Poser jailed for seven years for stealing over $2m from clients

A tax accountant received a hefty jail term after he swindled more than $2m from clients to fuel his secret gambling addiction.

An accounting manager has been hit with a hefty jail term after he swindled over $2m through tax claims to fuel his gambling addiction.

Jason Richard Poser, 35, was jailed for seven years after he abused his company and clients’ trust while working as a manager at SuperGuardian.

During sentencing on Thursday, the District Court heard Poser stole over $2m from 33 victims between 2020 and 2022.

The court heard Poser notified each of his victims of the amounts payable to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

However, Poser didn’t submit the tax returns after the client paid the ATO, meaning their accounts were in credit.

Jason Poser was jailed for theft. Photo: Facebook

He then would log onto the ATO client portal and request a refund to his bank account after changing the client’s details.

The court heard Poser sought extensions from clients before paying one by stealing from other clients.
Poser’s offending was detected after he went on paternity leave in September 2022 and another employee noticed unusual activity on one of the accounts Poser managed.

“The manner in which you offended was not particularly complex or sophisticated,” Judge Ian Press said.

“I note, however that it did need to be. You were trusted by your employer and your clients.”

Poser, of Highbury, pleaded guilty to 34 counts of theft.

Judge Press said SuperGuardian covered the shortfall of the insurance payout so the victims didn’t suffer any loss.

“Your employers did so by obtaining a bank loan in the sum of $800,000 and utilising their personal assets,” he said.

Poser read an apology letter to the court last month, saying his actions came from a place of desperation and sadness and recognised he had damaged the reputation of Super Guardian.
The court heard Poser got a job at SuperGuardian when he was 18 before eventually becoming a manager there and was responsible for about 500 funds at the time of the offending.

Michael Woods, for Poser, previously told the court his client had ceased gambling for nearly two years and sought help immediately after his arrest.
“This arose out of an all consuming addiction … he has and has had a severe gambling addiction, of the highest order,” Mr Woods said.

Mr Woods said records showed Poser placed 16,638 Sportsbet bets in 2020, which then escalated to 24,037 in 2021 and 26,492 in 2022.

“This is like 80, 100 bets a day. He can’t stop,” he said.

Judge Press sentenced Poser to seven years jail, with a non-parole period of three years and 11 months.

He ordered Poser did not need to pay compensation as he did not have the financial means to do so.

Originally published as Accountant Jason Poser jailed for seven years for stealing over $2m from clients