Lankan jailed for stealing $1.5m from charity in Aussie

A Sri Lankan born finance clerk who misappropriated $1.5 million from his employers, a major charity organization in Australia, was jailed for seven years today. Dinesh Enoka Abeysuriya was before the District Court in Brisbane to be sentenced for a year-long fraud which funded his online gambling addiction.

 

Abeysuriya stole $1.5 million from the Uniting Church’s Blue Care organisation and after money found in his accounts was frozen, the value of shortfall was about $900,000.

 

 

A second charge arose because Abeysuriya would regularly use his online account with sports betting organisation Centrebet, where $1.88 million in bets was shown on his Commonwealth Bank credit card.

 

 

When Abeysuriya finally stopped gambling his credit card was overdrawn a further $223,409, the court heard.

 

 

Abeysuriya, 29, pleaded guilty to aggravated fraud as an employee with a financial advantage of $1,534,967 between March 25, 2009, and April 9 this year.

 

 

He further pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining $223,404 from the Commonwealth Bank between March 5 and April 9 this year.

 

 

The sentence hearing was adjourned until yesterday so that Judge Kerry O’Brien could consider various aspects, including when Abeysuriya could be deported.

 

 

Judge O’Brien said he had been asked to impose five years jail so that Abeysuriya could have a partial suspension of his sentence, allowing him to have a definite date for his deportation.

 

 

But Judge O’Brien said he could not take into account what other bodies, the parole board or immigration authorities, might do in the future when imposing a sentence.

 

 

He said despite the mitigating factors, including Abeysuriya returning to Australia under his own free will, a sentence of seven years jail was needed.

 

 

Judge O’Brien set a parole eligibility date at November 22, 2012.

 

 

Last week, prosecutor Jacob Robson told the court Sri Lankan-born Abeysuriya came to Australia from New Zealand in 2008 to work at Blue Care, where he was responsible for credit payments.

 

 

He said Abeysuriya misappropriated the money, which he used to gamble online, over a 12-month period.

 

 

Mr Robson said Abeysuriya used three methods to misappropriate the money - inflating invoices and paying the extra to himself, paying invoices twice to legitimate creditors and himself, and paying invoices to himself.

 

 

He said the frauds were uncovered when a Commonwealth Bank employee became suspicious of large amounts of money going through Abeysuriya’s account.

 

 

Eventually Blue Care called in auditors who uncovered the frauds, and after being confronted, Abeysuriya fled to Sri Lanka.

 

 

Mr Robson said Abeysuriya returned to Australia and was remanded in custody in July.

 

 

He said Blue Care, one of Australia’s largest non-profit organisations for health and care for the elderly, expected the outstanding money would be covered by insurance.

 

 

Barrister Steve Zillman, for Abeysuriya, said his client had been lonely when he came to Australia to work and took up gambling.

 

 

“He was young and lonely. He felt isolated and suffered from anxiety and depression,” Mr Zillman said.

 

 

He said a psychiatrist’s report showed Abeysuriya had a pathological addiction to sports betting.

 

 

It was backed up by statements from his Blue Care workmates who often saw Abeysuriya’s computer open at sports betting sites.

 

 

Mr Zillman said Abeysuriya, who had returned to Brisbane of his own free will, was keen to be deported back to Sri Lanka once he had served his sentence, Australian Media reported.