- Ex of NRL star Josh Reynolds sentenced to 20 months in jail
- The violations occurred while she worked in the medical field
- She has reinvented herself as a professional boxer
A former reality TV contestant and ex-NRL WAG turned professional boxer has filed an appeal after being jailed for stealing $52,000 from her employer.
Arabella Del Busso was sentenced to 20 months behind bars earlier this year after pleading guilty to two counts of theft as an employee between September 2019 and February 2020.
She was working as a receptionist for Rheumatology Specialist Care at their Kogarah and Randwick practices in Sydney’s south when she hatched a plan to steal tens of thousands of dollars from the company.
On multiple occasions, court documents show the ex-girlfriend of former NRL star Josh Reynolds told customers the EFTPOS machine was not working and asked them to pay in cash instead.
Arabella Del Busso (photo) is appealing against her prison sentence for stealing from her employer
Former NRL star Josh Reynolds’ ex-girlfriend defrauded a medical center of $52,000
“Unfortunately our EFTPOS facilities are not available so it will be a cash transaction of $170 today, sorry for the inconvenience,” she said in a text message sent to 18 patients.
Del Busso withdrew $35,785 from the medical center’s Kogarah facility and $16,565 from the Randwick office for five months before a manager noticed the financial discrepancies.
Court documents show the lingerie model had deposited $18,215 into her personal accounts.
In February, Magistrate Hugh Donnelly sentenced Del Busso to at least 12 months behind bars for the ‘terrible breach of trust’ with a maximum prison sentence of twenty months.
Del Busso (pictured leaving a Sydney court) was sentenced to 20 months in prison
Del Busso’s case has been in court for more than two years
The famed boxer is now appealing the severity of her prison sentence in the NSW District Court.
On Monday, her lawyer Nasser Hamowi told the court he needed an assessment of Del Busso’s suitability for community service before filing the appeal for advancement.
Judge Timothy Gartelmann ordered a report and adjourned the case until April 10, when the model’s appeal will be heard.
The appeal will be the final step in the case, which has been before the court for more than two years.
Del Busso was convicted of the theft in her absence in early 2023, but managed to have the decision overturned before she was ultimately sentenced in February.
The former WAG reinvented himself as a professional boxer and fought in May last year
Del Busso also appeared on the reality TV show SAS Australia in 2020 (pictured)
She has been behind bars for more than seven weeks for the staggering $52,000 fraud.
The model previously had a high-profile and rocky relationship with former Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs star Josh Reynolds, who disappeared when it was revealed she had faked a pregnancy.
She admitted the fake pregnancy when she appeared on reality show SAS Australia just months after being fired from Rheumatology Specialist Care.
Before her incarceration, Del Busso worked as a lingerie model and celebrity boxer.