A former paralegal who dishonestly took more than $1.5 million from a Melbourne law firm to build a new home has been thrown behind bars ahead of her sentence.
Between April 2013 and July 2017, Athena Razos exploited her position at Moray & Agnew to make 118 fraudulent payments from the company's trust accounts.
In total, the 59-year-old stole $1.569 million from the law firm and used the money for rent payments and her new property in Box Hill South.
That included $205,000 to the vendor for settlement, $55,000 to the State Revenue Office for stamp duty and more than $103,000 to a construction company for the building works.
Razos' offending was uncovered in late 2017 and the Victorian Legal Services Board found she was not a fit and proper person to work in the profession in 2020.
In November 2022, she formally pleaded guilty to 16 counts of obtaining financial advantage and property by deception.
Razos faced the Victorian County Court on Thursday for a pre-sentencing hearing after more than a year of adjournments as she underwent mental health treatment.
Her barrister Gideon Boas said Razos had repaid the law firm more than $1.1 million in 2018, before she was charged with any offences.
The remainder of the funds would be repaid under a deal with Moray & Agnew and the Victorian Legal Services Board, Dr Boas said.
He said Razos' plan had always been to repay the company the full amount.
Dr Boas said Razos had not been thinking clearly when she offended and her plans for a new family home became an "impossible aspiration" as costs blew out.
Razos had significant mental health issues and a psychiatrist had found there was a link between her diagnosed depression and her offending, Dr Boas said.
Her condition had also deteriorated in recent years and she did not believe she would be in a state to work ever again, he said.
Prosecutor Jenaya Ellis did not dispute the mental health diagnosis but questioned whether there was a link between the depression and the offending.
The hearing was adjourned to a future date, to allow a psychiatrist to be brought in before the court to give evidence.
Dr Boas argued Razos should remain on bail until her next court date so she could undergo more psychiatric treatment.
But Judge John Kelly said jail was the inevitable sentence, given the extent of her offending and her relevant previous convictions.
This included a 16-month prison term for making false documents, obtaining property by deception and obtaining financial advantage by deception in 2009.
Judge Kelly said Razos should have realised she was relapsing into similar offending and "jumped off the carousel" before committing more crimes.
He ordered Razos be remanded in custody before her sentence.
She showed no emotion as she was led out of the courtroom.
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