Woman jailed for $123,000 fraud

Press, 29 July 1989, Page 6

Woman jailed for $123,000 fraud

A Mid-Canterbury housewife who systemetically defrauded an elderly, retired farmer of at least $123,000 in two years was sentenced in the District Court yesterday to 11 % months jail. The defendant, Margaret Jean Arps, aged 39, married with four children, appeared in the District Court in Christchurch for sentence after having been found guilty by a jury in Timaru last month on 21 counts. They were of fraudulently obtaining sums of money amounting to $123,000 from the farmer, aged in his 80’s, by cheques he made out to her. The jury had acquitted her of another five charges, involving $BOOO.. Imposing the jail sentence, Judge Noble also made an order for restitution of $15,000 by October 31. This sum took account of the pending sale of a luxury caravan Arps owned. Her counsel, Mr Tony Shaw, said that apart from this, Arp’s financial position was poor, and she stated she had spent the remainder of the money she obtained.

Miss Catherine Cull, who appeared for the Crown, submitted there were special circumstances to the offences, requiring a prison sentence to be considered.

The Judge said that Arps, in the period from January, 1986, to February last year, by a series of deceptions had fraudulently persuaded the elderly complainant to part with his savings.

She had taken full advantage, of the fact that he was generous, compassionate, lonely and gullible.

Apart from the prospective caravan sale, there was no possibility of restitution being made. The Judge said he concluded that the money she obtained enabled her to heighten and maintain a lifestyle she would not otherwise have achieved. As a result, the elderly complainant was left with much-diminished savings for the remainder of his life.

She had “milked” the complainant’s savings systematically, on the promise of repayment from another source.

The Judge said he took into account some mitigat-

ing factors including her family situation and the fact that she had no relevant previous convictions, and was not likely to offend in this way again. However, against that, he said, the offences were not spur-of-the-moment actions by Arps. They were a series of systematic deceptions over two years, in which she took $123,000 from a lonely old man who was susceptible to her wiles. The sentence had to show society’s condemnation and denunciation of her conduct.

The Judge said it was sad to see a woman of her position before the court. Mr Shaw, in submissions in mitigation of penalty, said Arps had asked that he seek a sentence other than imprisonment. He said he recognised that the offences made imprisonment inevitable, but sought as short a term as possible.

He referred to her settled married life, and young family and to her past record of achievement.

Her two weeks in prison awaiting sentence had been a salutary lesson for her.