Former Berwick Junior Football Club President Kate Murphy has been sentenced to 112 days in prison for embezzling almost $150K in her former role at a Pakenham legal firm, actions described as a betrayal of a “trusted family friend”.
The 44-year-old pleaded guilty in the County Court of Victoria to four charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception between the years of 2021 and 2024.
Judge Frances Hogan sentenced Ms Murphy to a 112-day term of imprisonment combined with a three-year community corrections order.
Mepstead Lawyers employed Ms Murphy in Pakenham, where in her role as conveyancer and then manager of property conveyance she transferred fees and charges owed to the law firm to third-party accounts owned by her.
Over the course of three years, she embezzled approximately $148,087.
In 2024, Ms Murphy attempted to buy the parent entity of the law firm Andrews Legal Group (AGL) with an agreement to put down a $200,000 deposit.
Murphy Family Conveyancing Pty Ltd, the company she owned, went into liquidation before proceedings could begin.
A dispute occurred between AGL director Christopher Andrews and Ms Murphy after she responded falsely on behalf of AGL to the liquidator’s inquiries regarding her own company.
Ms Murphy took leave during this time and Mr Andrews authorised an internal audit of AGL, where irregularities were found in Ms Murphy’s transactions through the property exchange platform PEXA.
Ms Murphy resigned and is said to have admitted to stealing from AGL on the day of this finding in May 2024.
An analysis of Ms Murphy’s records on PEXA showed over 130 fraudulent transactions made to two bank accounts operated by her.
She was found to have fabricated documents that involved sending falsified invoices to clients where part of the funds received would be transacted to herself before amending the invoices to hide the money she had taken within AGL’s records.
Ms Murphy was arrested and interviewed by police on 25 October 2024, where she admitted to the offending.
Attempts have been made for restitution, including a proposed loan provided by Mr Murphy’s parents and a small deferment of her wages to AGL.
However, only $24,000 has been repaid to AGL.
The defence made submissions that Ms Murphy was suffering from “ebbs and flows” of mental health issues during the offending.
Judge Hogan accepted there was anxiety and stress experienced after the offending, but did not accept on the “balance of probabilities” that she was suffering mental health problems during the offending.
A “record of grievance” was noted by Judge Hogan against Mr Andrews, who was a friend of Ms Murphy beyond the workplace and she had attended his wedding.
The impacts on Mr Andrews were “profound”, his impact statement said he had been “devastated by the betrayal” of not just a colleague but a “trusted family friend.”
Having to pay legal costs, affected clients and his cancer treatment, Mr Andrews sold the business and said that Ms Murphy’s actions “destroyed” him and his wife’s financial sustainability.
Judge Hogan said Ms Murphy had demonstrated “some remorse”, but not “full and total remorse”, noting indications of attempts to justify her actions.
Her motive for offending was “never made clear,” Judge Hogan quoted her saying, “I didn’t do anything extravagant” with the money and used it partially for “private school fees.”
She resigned from her position as President of Berwick Junior Football Club after the charges were publicised.
Judge Hogan described her “spectacular fall from grace” when considering the impact of incarceration.
Weight was given to her mental health, impact on her family, lack of prior conviction and contribution to her community in sentencing.
However, considering the lack of risk in reoffending was minimised due to the gravity of the crime and its precedent for the wider community, Judge Hogan said.
The three-year community corrections order after her term of imprisonment includes 400 hours of unpaid community work, monitoring and confinement to Victoria.
