A former business manager of Melbourne High School has been jailed after stealing more than $430,000 from her employer to feed an out-of-control gambling addiction.
Frances Walshe's first theft — a transfer of $1,423 in early 2012 — went unnoticed by the school because of a poor financial governance model that gave the 65-year-old unchecked access to its bank accounts.
Over the following decade, Walshe made a further 263 illegal transactions, stealing $432,546 from the school's coffers to feed an out-of-control gambling addiction.
According to court documents, she applied white out to copies of bank statements, covering up the transfers she made to herself.
When new principal Anthony Mordini was appointed, he was determined to clean up the school's finances and eventually gained access to the bank accounts.
He set about changing the single-tier payment authorisation system, and stripped Walshe of her ability to sign off on transfers.
When Walshe was confronted by Mr Mordini and education department staff in 2021, she resigned on the spot and apologised for "the grief I have caused both you and the school".
Poker machine habit got out of hand 'extraordinarily quickly'
On Monday, Judge Peter Lauritsen sentenced Walshe to 24 months' prison, with a non-parole period of 14 months.
Judge Lauritsen said the sentence was "significantly discounted" due to Walshe's early guilty plea.
Lawyers for the 65-year-old told the County Court prison would be particularly tough on Walshe, who appeared physically frail and suffered from anxiety and depression.
Walshe showed little emotion as the sentence was being read out, but character references provided to the court by her friends and family said she was remorseful and ashamed of her actions.
At the end of the hearing, she waved and blew kisses to her adult children before being led out of the courtroom.
During a plea hearing last month, Walshe's lawyer Hayden Rattray said the sudden end to the grandmother's second marriage left her in despair, and "gravitating towards the poker machine venue".
"Playing those machines provided some of the only solace she enjoyed. That habit got out of hand extraordinarily quickly," he said.
Judge Lauritsen noted prosecutors had spoken to Melbourne High and were no longer seeking for Walshe to pay back the stolen money.
He said the notoriety of Walshe's offending would likely have some impact on the school's reputation.
"You were able to act dishonestly because you were trusted by the school without reservation," Judge Lauritsen said.
"I daresay parents of school past and present may be upset by your dishonesty."
