By Jeremy Sollars
A former employee of the Stanthorpe branch of the Commonwealth Bank has avoided serving actual jail time after pleading guilty to defrauding the bank by forging her former husband’s signature on applications for loans totalling $60,000 in 2013.
Cassandra Lee Kimmins, 27, appeared for sentencing before Judge Andrews in the Warwick District Court today, Thursday 9 February.
The court heard Kimmins – who had been employed at the bank’s Stanthorpe branch for around two years by the time she committed the frauds – filled out a loan application for $25,000 in March 2013.
She put both herself and her ex-husband down as joint applicants – without his knowledge – and forged his signature on the loan application documents.
Kimmins used the money to pay off an existing debt and paid off the fraudulently-obtained loan in full, the court was told.
But two days before Christmas 2013 Kimmins completed a second loan application, this time for $35,000 and again in joint names and forging her ex-husband’s signature.
The court heard Kimmins – a mother of two – used the money to pay for the couple’s wedding, home renovations, general family expenses and to pay off a $6000 credit debt of her then-husband.
She was in the process of paying off the second loan via a fortnightly direct debit when her offending was discovered by the Commonwealth Bank on 1 April 2014, after which she was sacked.
Her ex-husband later paid back the $6000 from which he had benefitted.
Kimmins’ barrister told the court his client had been forced to control the family finances, with her former husband having been an “impetuous spender” who led “an extravagant lifestyle” which they could not afford and with “really no idea about money”, placing her under stress and pressure from trying to make ends meet.
Judge Andrews accepted that Kimmins’ case was different to typical fraud cases, in that by taking out bank loans – however fraudulently – Kimmins had in effect committed herself legally to re-paying the illegally-obtained funds.
But Judge Andrews did accept the Crown Prosecutor’s submission that fraud is of a higher criminality when the offender is an employee of the “victim”, in this case the Commonwealth Bank, which he noted had eventually written off a sum of $30,539.21 caused by Kimmins’ offending.
In sentencing Kimmins His Honour noted that she is currently “nursing a 12-month-old daughter” and that separation due to imprisonment would have a detrimental effect on the child’s well-being.
Kimmins’ barrister also tendered statements from her family members, which indicated that while she had family support to look after her child if she were to be sent to jail, her mother was suffering from a life-threatening medical condition and the added burden of care of her grandchild would be detrimental to her own health.
Judge Andrews sentenced Kimmins to two years in prison but set her parole release date as of today, to the relief of Kimmins and her family members and supporters in the public gallery.
Kimmins will be required to regularly report to probation and parole officers during the next two years.
