by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A “serial thief” book-keeper with an eye for “frivolous extravagances” has been jailed after fleecing more than $560,000 from a family small-business in Dandenong South.
Robyn Lunney, 48, pleaded guilty at the Victorian County Court to theft from her employer Cut Price Kitchens (CPK) over nearly four years.
Sentencing judge Gerard Mullaly said Lunney had “regularly and relentlessly” made no less than 221 unauthorised payments to her own bank account between 2016 and 2020.
She’d either disguised them as payments to suppliers or as her own wages.
“You had no or such little regard for your employer that your theft became a matter of routine for you.”
Her bank accounts during that time revealed “self-indulgent greed” and “frivolous extravagances”, the judge said.
According to a prosecution summary, she racked up more than $773,000 in expenses in the four years including $437,467 on retail purchases.
She spent more than $100,000 on fashion and beauty spa treatments and products.
The thefts ended only as Lunney’s job came to an end.
Her scam was later discovered by a book-keeper who stated how “awful” and “stressful” it was to reveal the magnitude to CPK’s owner.
Lunney had been twice convicted for similar thefts from employers, including just under $300,000 from a workplace in 2007.
At the time of her CPK rorting, she was on a community corrections order.
“You’ve become a serial thief preying on the trust of your employers,” Judge Mullaly said.
Lunney also admitted to similarly stealing from a more recent employer, who investigated their finances after media reports about Lunney’s present court case.
This latest revelation led to a defence lawyer withdrawing submissions about Lunney’s purported remorse and steps to rehabilitation.
Her prospects for reform were “fairly bleak”, the judge noted.
In a victim impact statement, CPK’s owner told of the emotional toll of discovering Lunney’s “betrayal”.
Aside from the “severe” financial hit, it caused a “sense of deep mistrust, personal violation and disbelief” and “overwhelming” stress and anxiety, he stated.
Great time and effort were used to rectify the financial discrepancies.
Lunney was on medication for anxiety and depression. Her mental health wasn’t considered to make her jail stint more burdensome.
In terms of mitigation, she seemed “absent” of any remorse, the judge noted.
Lunney was jailed for five years and nine months. She will be eligible for parole in four years.
Her term included 50 days of pre-sentence detention.
