A Melbourne woman will spend at least two years behind bars after she fleeced a major appliance company of more than $3.38 million.
Aphrodite Myron, 58, was a senior and trusted Hisense customer service manager when she defrauded the company to fund her gambling addiction.
Between 2014 and 2021, she repeatedly emailed the company's finance director about purported customer complaints, claiming they needed to pay compensation.
Hisense ended up paying $3,383,56.96 into 35 separate bank accounts set up by Myron under her and her family's names.
She wasted the money on online slot machines, holding on to the false hope she could recoup her losses and pay back her debts.
County Court Judge Nola Karapanagiotidis described the offending as relatively sophisticated, calculated and planned.
"You were a senior and trusted employee in a position of trust, which you breached," she told the court on Tuesday.
But the judge accepted Myron had diagnosed complex post-traumatic stress disorder and a gambling disorder, and it was likely she wouldn't have offended but for her addiction.
Myron had also shown remorse through her guilty plea and she had an otherwise unblemished record, Judge Karapanagiotidis noted.
While jail would be more difficult for the 58-year-old given her mental health conditions and family situation, the judge said punishment must take precedence.
On the eight counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception, Judge Karapanagiotidis sentenced Myron to four years and one month behind bars.
She'll be eligible for parole after two years and two months.
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