Catherine Mary James jailed for defrauding Aspect Design Studio of more than $100,000

An offer to pay back compensation from the inheritance from her late mother’s estate has spared a 55-year-old woman from further jail time.

A Toowoomba woman has been convicted of fraud, taking more than $100,000 in a 44-month period.

A Toowoomba woman’s fall from grace as a long-time volunteer in the community to a prisoner who stole more than $100,000 from a local business has been heard in court.

Catherine Mary James appeared in Toowoomba District Court on Monday where she was sentenced to a term of imprisonment after she pleaded guilty to fraud.

The court heard James was employed in April 2011 by Toowoomba business Aspect Design Studio as an office manager, where her duties included paying accounts, depositing cheques, making payments on credit accounts.

She was provided with access to the business bank account.

Crown prosecutor Matthew LeGrand told the court the 55-year-old began making fraudulent transactions from the business accounts in late 2014, and over a 44-month period transferred $104,810.32 in 133 transactions ranging from $99 up to $3500.

James’ fraudulent activity was uncovered after the business hired a chief financial officer in January 2018. It was discovered the company’s printing and stationary costs dropped considerably in the months following the CFO’s employment.

An investigation found numerous transactions had been allocated to printing and stationary costs, without any invoices, with transactions made out to Officeworks.

Further investigations revealed the money had been transferred into James’ own accounts, disguised as reimbursements for travel costs, stationery expenses and wages, and she was terminated from her job in June 2018.

Describing the offences as “not sophisticated”, Mr LeGrand submitted they constituted a “breach of trust” that had a considerable impact on the business.

“This is perhaps one of the greatest aggravating features of this case is that as the office manager substantial amount of trust was placed in her, and she abused that over a number of years,” he said.

James’ defence barrister Isaac Munsie said his client had no previous criminal history and was heavily involved in caring for various members of her family.

“She is someone who is quite caring and always has been family focused,” he said.

Mr Munsie also said James had considerable health problems, including a battle with breast cancer in 2015, which she used about $20,000 of the stolen money on treatment.

Mr Munsie said that while her diagnosis came a few months after the start of her offending, she did “struggle to cover the cost” of treatment.

Mr Munsie also said his client was heavily involved in the community, including volunteering for decades with multiple groups.

The court was told James was awaiting a considerable inheritance from the estate of her mother, which was expected to arrive in the coming months, and offered to repay the entire amount defrauded as compensation to Aspect Design Studio.

Judge Anthony Rafter said it was “unusual” to have an offender offer to pay back such a large sum of compensation, noting that the offer was a sign of remorse.

“Payment of such a substantial amount of compensation would be an important mitigating factor … but a person can’t bargain their way out of imprisonment,” he said.

Judge Rafter convicted James and sentenced her to four years behind bars, suspended after six months. James was also ordered to repay $104,810.32 in compensation within four months, with an additional eight months jail time to be served if the compensation is not paid.