Two
year five months jail for Rebekah Laura Proctor after defrauding Victoria
University of $481,000 was reduced on appeal to twelve months home detention
plus 100 hours community service.
Proctor pleaded guilty to fraud after
discrepancies discovered by a senior manager led to an audit. She had created 106 false invoices over three
years billing the University for non-existent contracts. Proctor appealed the severity of her jail
sentence.
Justice Cull said the sentence failed to take
fully into account mitigating factors.
Proctor repaid $250,000 after selling the family home, family car and
emptying her bank account. The
sentencing judge did not have a psychiatric report identifying Proctor as
suffering from depression prior to the offending. Further depressive illnesses arose during the
offending triggered by the stresses and demands of her work, financial pressure
and a young family all compounded by an unexpected pregnancy. The fact Proctor had already served four
months imprisonment prior to the appeal was also taken into account.
Proctor
v. Police – High Court (7.11.12)
16.156