Stamped with the Whitefriars crest, it instructed Christal Lau to pay $37,792 to secure an enrolment for her little brother.

But two weeks after Ms Lau transferred the money she discovered she'd been scammed.

Kate Choi, an education consultant who had lined up the enrolment, had falsified the document on her computer, changing the school’s bank details to her own.

She had also hiked up the tuition fees by more than $10,000.

“I was so shocked,” Ms Lau said.

“How could this happen?”

Ms Lau’s family weren’t the only ones caught up in the rort.

In Frankston Magistrates Court on Friday, Choi pleaded guilty to stealing $94,573 from six international students who were clients of her business and Melbourne Education and Information Centre, where she worked as a manager.

The first-time offender was jailed for two months, given a 12-month community corrections order and ordered to pay the money back.

The victims had moved money into Choi's 12 bank accounts, thinking they were paying tuition fees for Monash University, Deakin University, Kangan TAFE, Whitefriars Catholic College for Boys and private training colleges Royal Gurkhas Institute Of Technology Australia and St Peters Institute.

They'd hired Choi to help them navigate Australia's education system, secure enrolments and apply for student visas.

Choi, who sobbed during the hearing, also admitted to falsifying documents.

Magistrate Dominic Lennon said the 47-year-old’s actions were sophisticated and serious and had put young, vulnerable international students under incredible stress.

“It is a shocking breach of trust and responsibility,” he said.

Mr Lennon said Choi had deceived families who had spent years saving to send their children to Australia for an education.

He said after discovering they owed money to their education providers, many of the victims were worried their student visas would be cancelled.

Many abandoned their dreams of studying in Australia and returned home.

If they return to Australia they'll be chased for the debts they accrued through no fault of their own.

One student told The Age he had no option but to return to his home in South Korea after discovering Choi had stolen his tuition fees for Deakin University.

She falsified the bank details on his letter of offer, which meant he inadvertently transferred around $15,000 in tuition fees into her account. He deposited his next tranche of tuition fees directly to Deakin University.

But he said Choi used counterfeit documents to create a bank account in his name and then asked the university to refund his fees.

"She refunded the tuition fees and sent the money to her own bank account afterwards," he said.

Choi gambled the money she stole from students.

Her bank records revealed a $128,000 loss at Crown Casino and a $14,000 loss on online pokie machines which were linked to her bank account.

Choi’s lawyer, Jacqueline Parnell said her client had been “chasing that next big win to make it better”.

She said Choi was remorseful, had admitted to the crimes and intended to pay the money back.

“She is attempting to piece herself back together,” she said.

Ms Lau said the saga had eroded her brother’s trust in adults.

“We thought in Australia, everyone was meant to be much more trustworthy,” she said.

Her father, who lives in Hong Kong, took out a loan to fund her brother’s international student fees at Whitefriars. “It was a big sacrifice,” she said.

After discovering the fraud, he had to borrow more money so his son could commence his Year 9 studies.

“We have had to pay twice,” she said.

She’s also angry at her bank. She can’t believe that the money didn’t bounce back when the account name didn’t match the account number.

But there is one silver lining: “My brother is here, and he’s doing well at school.”