Melbourne grandma steals $850k from her small business employer

An office manager at a real estate agency stole a massive amount of money from the business and says she spent more than half of it on the pokies. Picture: File
An office manager at a real estate agency stole a massive amount of money from the business and says she spent more than half of it on the pokies. Picture: Supplied

A Melbourne grandmother working as a real estate office manager stole more than three-quarters of a million dollars from her employers, a small business, over about three years.

Debbie Ann Mauger, 57, was on a salary of $85,000 when she made a series of fraudulent payments, with expense labels like “advertising”, from Belle Property Sandringham’s business account to her own bank account, stealing $853,000 in total.

Her lawyer Jason Gullaci told the County Court of Victoria on Thursday that she put more than half of it into the pokies.

The court was told the business nearly went under after the massive theft between December 2016 and February 2020 when an accountant started asking questions about the dodgy expenses and Ms Mauger quit.

She pleaded guilty to three counts of theft on Thursday and was told by Judge Rosemary Carlin that she would “inevitably” be jailed when sentenced.

In a victim impact statement, Belle Property Sandringham owner Stephen Tickell said he had considered Ms Mauger almost like family, and her betrayal had scarred him.

“If you can’t trust such close friends, who can you trust?” he said.

He and director Jennifer Dwyer were considering retirement but were forced to put that thought aside as they endeavoured to pay back creditors Ms Mauger had been secretly lying to about payments.

“The loss to our business because of this is unable to ever be quantified,” he said.

Debbie Mauger stole more than three-quarters of a million dollars from her employers, a real estate agency, while employed as an office manager – nearly sending the small business broke. Picture: Supplied
Debbie Mauger stole more than three-quarters of a million dollars from her employers, a real estate agency, while employed as an office manager – nearly sending the small business broke. Picture: Supplied

In Ms Mauger’s role she had full access to the company’s bank accounts and was in a position of “enormous trust”, having worked there for more than eight years, Ms Dwyer said in her victim impact statement.

“It is impossible to articulate fully the impact this crime has had on me.

“I am still trying to make sense of a betrayal of the highest order.”

Ms Mauger was unable to account for where the money had gone, telling police she had bought gifts for her children and grandchildren and would put up to $1000 a night into the pokies.

When it was put to her by police that she had stolen $850,000, she said: “I find that astronomical when I don’t have that to show.”

She rented her home and had no significant assets besides two family vehicles, Mr Gullaci said, and made personal purchases like $66,000 spent at the iTunes store.

“I’m left in a situation where I just don’t know what happened to the money,” Judge Carlin said.

Her husband and three daughters were supporting Ms Mauger and she had no prior convictions, Mr Gullaci said.

“She is one of the last people you would think would find herself in the position that she now does,” he said.

She will be sentenced on June 25.