Compulsive gambler who embezzled nearly quarter million gets two years

Compulsive gambler who embezzled nearly quarter million gets two years

Thursday, May 15, 2014





Russell Piffer
leducrep.newstwo@sunmedia.ca

A woman who embezzled about $225,000 from her employer is going to jail, despite her defense arguing the recovering compulsive gambler’s sentence would best be served in the community.
Patricia Sagert, 56, was sentenced to two years in prison in Leduc Provincial Court on Thursday, May 8, after pleading guilty to fraud over $5,000 in September 2013.

Over about a 14-month period ending in summer 2011, Sagert forged checks from her employer, North West Crane, to herself, her husband and Visa to feed a gambling addiction.
“It went into slot machines, every penny,” Sagert told the court. “Thousands and thousands of dollars.”
The fraud was detected when Canadian Western Bank noticed irregularities in the signature on a cheque from North West Crane to Sagert.
Her employer questioned her about the cheque and she subsequently left the company, the court heard.
A forensic audit found several forged cheques and Sagert was charged with theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000 in June 2013, the court heard.
During her sentencing, the psychologist who performed Sagert’s psychological assessment testified she was a compulsive gambler and had entered Gamblers Anonymous’ 12-step program.
He said she struggled with making amends to North West Crane because of the magnitude of what she had taken.
“I couldn’t grasp the figure for a long time,” Sagert said, adding she thought an offer of a $100 cheque would be ridiculed.
Sagert’s lawyer argued for a sentence served in the community.
He said his client provided care for her elderly mother and would lose her current job if she went to jail.
A prison sentence wouldn’t benefit her recovery or her ability to make restitution, the court heard.
When handing down his sentence, Judge Maher questioned the sincerity of Sagert’s remorse, on the grounds that she hadn’t attempted to make financial restitution to North West Crane.
“What it tells me is there’s virtually no remorse and this accused is all about herself,” he said.
“The best indication of remorse is not what somebody says. It’s what they do.”
Along with the two-year prison sentence, Judge Maher ordered Sagert to make full restitution, an amount of $225,000, to North West Crane.
Gambling addiction is not generally considered a mitigating factor in Canadian law.



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