Rebecca Louise Mason faces Toowoomba District Court on eight counts of fraud for ripping off family to cover gambling debts

Over almost three years, a 39-year-old woman manipulated the bank accounts of her wife and wheelchair-bound mother-in-law to feed her gambling addiction, a court has been told.

A Toowoomba woman who drained the bank accounts of her wife and her wife’s family of almost $150,000 has been jailed.

Rebecca Louise Mason, 39, had manipulated the bank accounts of her own family over a period of two years and nine months and used the money mainly to support her gambling addiction, Toowoomba District Court was told.

The main victim of Mason’s scamming was her frail, wheelchair-bound mother-in-law who was ripped off by more than $68,000, Crown prosecutor Emily Coley told the court.

The 79-year-old woman penned a victim impact statement for the court before her death in November 2023 which robbed her of being with her family who had gathered in court for Mason’s sentencing on Monday, February 19.

In her statement, read to the court by Ms Coley, the woman spoke of the betrayal she felt of Mason who had manipulated her bank account under the guise of arranging her nursing home care, obtaining a new wheelchair, which never arrived, and other ruses.

Toowoomba Courthouse in Hume St, Toowoomba City.

Ms Coley said Mason had obtained the money by manipulating bank accounts and through false Centrelink accounts and superannuation accounts in the names of her victims.

In total, the three family members were out of pocket to the tune of $141,448, she said.

Eventually, her mother-in-law became suspicious when the new wheelchair, which Mason said she had ordered, had taken more than two years but hadn’t arrived.

Mason, who had no previous criminal history at all, pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud.

Her barrister Dan Boddice told the court though Mason had initially offered to repay the money, she was not working, had no assets and no capacity to repay the loss.

Most of the money had gone on gambling but some of it was used for household expenses, he said.

However, his client’s wife was still sticking by her and she had been receiving counselling for her gambling problem and in the two years since she was charged she had been on bail and not reoffended, he said.

Mr Boddice said his client had suffered post traumatic stress disorder from childhood trauma.

Judge Paul Smith noted the significant impact Mason’s offending had on the family who would not be compensated.

Judge Smith sentenced Mason to four and a half years in jail but ordered the term be suspended after she had served 13 months with the balance to hang over her head for five years.