Fraudster Shaun Kelly who stole $1.5m fails in appeal bid

A fraudster who was jailed after he fleeced nearly $1.5m from his employer and blew huge sums gambling was labelled a ‘disgrace’ for this reason.

A Melbourne fraudster fleeced $1.5m from his employer and was labelled a “disgrace” for being in another state when he was due to be sentenced.

Shaun Kelly was jailed for five years and six months in May 2020 after he pleaded guilty to eight charges of obtaining property by deception in the County Court of Victoria.

He siphoned $1,498,000 from the Mondous Group while working as a property manager for the company between March 2017 and March 2018. Of that, $300,000 went on gambling.

But the 49-year-old argued in the Court of Appeal he should get less jail time because the judge who jailed him made an error in the sentence and denied him “procedural fairness”.

Kelly was due to be sentenced in Melbourne on May 20 last year, but the hearing was postponed because Kelly was 1800km away in Queensland.

Kelly stole nearly $1.5m from his employer and spent huge sums gambling. Picture: Supplied

The sentencing judge labelled it an “absolute disgrace” and jailed Kelly two days later when he returned to Victoria.

“What is important is that I can only draw the conclusion that either the gravity of your situation has still not sunk in or you still prefer to satisfy your own selfish priorities over the law,” the judge said in his sentencing remarks.

It showed a “breathtaking arrogance” and “smacks of contempt” for the criminal justice process, the judge said. He also said Kelly was a “long, long way from rehabilitation”.

The judge also refused to hear an apology from Kelly when he returned for sentencing.

But Kelly’s lawyers argued in the appeal that the judge’s findings about his rehabilitation prospects, lack of insight and claims about his contempt for the criminal justice process should not have been made.

Kelly’s lawyers also argued that the judge’s findings were not justified and in relation to his prospects of rehabilitation were “inconsistent with information” provided at the pre-sentence hearing.

The judge said during a pre-sentence hearing the fraudster’s prospects of rehabilitation were “good but with some concerns”.

But the Court of Appeal Justices David Beach and Phillip Priest said the argument the original judge formed a more negative view of the fraudster’s rehabilitation prospects after he failed to appear at his sentence must be accepted.

“The judge formed the more negative view of (Kelly’s) prospects for rehabilitation because of what the judge regarded as (Kelly’s) totally inappropriate conduct of going to Queensland,” they found.

Kelly lost his bid to reduce his sentence after arguing the original judge made errors.

They determined the original judge’s findings on the acceptance of responsibility, insight and rehabilitation without seeking further submissions from Kelly did involve a denial of procedural fairness.

“Those conclusions should not have been reached without affording the appellant a chance to apologise and a chance to make further submissions,” Justice Beach and Justice Priest wrote.

But they rejected the lawyer’s arguments that the judge’s findings were not open on the evidence.

They found the offending involved substantial breaches of trust, there were 18 transactions with nearly $1.5m taken from the company and Kelly tried to hide his crimes.

“Accepting that (Kelly) had and has good prospects of rehabilitation, the sentences imposed, and orders made … were moderate,” they found.

The appeal was dismissed and Kelly must serve at least three years and five months before he is eligible for parole.