A Canberra chiropractor has been ordered to pay back stolen funds to his former employer, which he ripped off over the course of five months.
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Isaac William Edgar, 26, pleaded guilty to obtaining financial advantage by deception by creating fake appointments for patients in order to gain bonuses of up to $626.10 while working at Global Health Centre Chiropractic in Phillip and Motion Wellness in Macquarie.
The owners of the two businesses were alerted to irregularities in their systems when they noticed Edgar had not included any patient notes from two appointments.
The owners phoned the patients and discovered neither had attended the appointments booked for them by Edgar.
When confronted by the owners, Edgar lied when asked if the patients had attended their appointments and was fired.
In ACT Magistrates Court on Monday morning, Edgar's lawyer, Andrew Byrnes, called the offence "ultimately stupid and deeply regretful behaviour from my client".
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The 26-year-old was quoted as saying he was "sincerely sorry" for making the "stupid and dumb decision" to defraud his employer between August 2020 and January 2021.
Mr Byrnes said Edgar, who studied in Melbourne and currently works at Canberra Spine Centre in O'Connor, was under financial stress and felt he was overworked and not paid well enough when he committed the fraud.
Mr Byrnes argued for a non-conviction order due to the adverse impacts a recorded conviction would have on Edgar's job prospects and financial situation.
Prosecutor Stafford Whitfield argued against this, saying Edgar's actions were deliberate.
"This was not an opportunistic offence," Mr Whitfield said. "He was in a position of power."
Magistrate James Stewart said it was "not appropriate to not record a conviction" and the "offending [was] too serious not to impose a sentence".
Mr Stewart called the offending a "breach of trust" and said future employees were entitled to know about his previous behaviour.
He fined Edgar $1500 and also ordered him to pay back the defrauded amount in reparations.
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Soofia Tariq
Soofia joined the Canberra Times in 2022 as the cadet. She is now a general news reporter, covering everything from local stories to ACT and federal politics. She previously interned and was an audio producer at The Guardian Australia. She has also worked at 2SER Radio and City Hub Sydney. Her email is soofia.tariq@canberratimes.com.au
Soofia joined the Canberra Times in 2022 as the cadet. She is now a general news reporter, covering everything from local stories to ACT and federal politics. She previously interned and was an audio producer at The Guardian Australia. She has also worked at 2SER Radio and City Hub Sydney. Her email is soofia.tariq@canberratimes.com.au
