Gambling behind woman’s theft from dental clinic.
Claimed she had a medical condition that “made her steal”.
April 16, 2024, New Zealand – Former dental clinic worker sentenced to community detention for fraud.
Gambling issues played a part in a woman’s decision to steal thousands of dollars from the dental clinic where she worked, a judge has said. (Did you know, gambling is one of the Top 6 Red Flags)
When Roxanne Arsi invoiced customers, she used her mobile phone and diverted payments to her own bank account account.
Roxanne Joy Lamong Arsi pleaded guilty last year to six charges of altering a document with intent to defraud. On Tuesday afternoon, she was sentenced before Nelson District Court.
According to the police summary of facts, Arsi’s job at DentalCare Nelson involved invoicing customers on a template via a work mobile phone.
Over the course of several days last May, Arsi diverted several payments, the highest of which was $2200, to her personal bank account.
She also refunded a customer’s $500 voucher to her own bank account, and police later found Arsi had tampered with the voucher.
In total, she stole $4140, much of which has been reversed by banks, leaving $1440 outstanding.
Defence lawyer Luke Acland said Arsi had “taken steps to put things right with herself,” including attending counselling.
Arsi was a student and worked part-time, he said.
Judge Brian Callaghan said Arsi had a background of similar offending: in 2019 she was convicted of three occasions of theft by a person in a special relationship, for which she was sentenced to community work.
A pre-sentence report flagged “very personal issues” as a result of Arsi’s past.
However, these were not responsible for the offending, the judge surmised.
“Clearly there’s an issue with gambling, and I’m not quite convinced that your personal issues directly led you to this offending.”
Judge Callaghan said community work would not be a sufficient sentence, given the breach of trust.
He sentenced Arsi to four months’ community detention, based in Christchurch where her parents live.
She was ordered to undertake treatment for gambling as required.
Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350246692/gambling-behind-womans-theft-dental-clinic
