Trusted Adelaide accountant Jason Richard Poser fleeced $2million from his clients to feed 100-bets-a-day gambling addiction
An accountant stole more than $2 million by falsifying tax returns to fund his “all-consuming” gambling addiction, placing up to 100 bets a day on a racing and sports app.
Jason Richard Poser, 35, appeared in the Adelaide District Court on Friday for a sentencing hearing for stealing money from 85 separate superannuation funds between 2020 and 2022 while working for accounting firm SuperGuardian.
He pleaded guilty to 34 counts of theft.
Public prosecutor Frank Niemann told the court Poser stole amounts of $317,000 and $400,000 from Davco Nominees.
The victims, who trusted SuperGuardian to manage their self-managed super funds, were told by Poser that the sums were owed to the Australian Taxation Office.
“After that happened, he went to the ATO website or looked at all the accounts, changed the repayment details and repaid the money to himself,” Niemann said, according to the Advertiser from Adelaide.
‘The stolen amounts come from self-managed pension funds. That is money that you would expect to be intended for the victims to enjoy in comfort.’
According to the court, Poser also stole from one customer to pay another.
Jason Richard Poser, 35, has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $2 million from his accounting clients
Poser read a letter of apology to the court, in which he said he sincerely regretted his actions.
“The financial aspect was painful enough, but the shock, anger and disappointment of being betrayed by someone you had every right to trust and who should have had your best interests at heart was also enormous,” he said.
Poser stated that he acted out of desperation and grief.
He also acknowledged that he had damaged SuperGuardian’s reputation.
In arguing for a sentence of house arrest, Poser’s attorney Michael Woods said that while his client previously suffered from an “all-consuming addiction,” he had stopped gambling nearly two years ago.
According to Mr Woods, Poser placed 16,638 Sportsbet bets in 2020, rising to 24,037 in 2021 and 26,492 in 2022.
Power placed up to 100 bets a day with the stolen money via a racing and sports betting app
“That’s about 80, 100 bets a day. He can’t stop,” Mr. Woods said.
According to Mr. Woods, Poser had been working at SuperGuardian since before he was 18 and had risen to the position of manager.
“He lost his career, he’s ashamed, he’s embarrassed, his future is in jeopardy,” Woods said.
“He has lost the trust of the people he respected at work and in others. He has also lost his self-esteem.”
Poser continued to steal in the grip of his addiction, even though he knew he would one day receive a “terrible phone call that someone had noticed.”
“It was inevitable that it would fail and that it would ultimately result in a paper trail,” Woods told the court.
According to his lawyer, there was no way Poser would be able to repay the stolen funds.
Poser will be sentenced next month.