Jail time for dad on $80k fraud
Wife free to care for kids
A DRYSDALE couple’s decision to scam their own employer out of more than $80,000 has landed one of them behind bars.
Glenn Ould, 43, was sentenced at Geelong Magistrates Court on Thursday to four months in jail over the large-scale deception.
But his wife Rachel Ould avoided prison after a magistrate found she played a lesser role in the fraud and was needed to care for the couple’s two children.
The parents were working for RK Designer Cabinets in South Geelong when they stole the money in 2019.
Some of the funds were splurged on holidays, including a Thailand family getaway.
The court previously heard the pair was earning about $200,000 at the time, with Glenn Ould employed as the business’s manager and his wife as a receptionist.
Their crimes initially went undetected and caused financial woes for the business’s owners, who eventually sold the company for substantially less than what they paid.
Magistrate Peter Mellas said the couple’s fraud appeared to be based on a desire to lead a more comfortable life.
“It’s unclear to me what the motivation was other than greed,” he said.
“There’s no suggestion that there were any significant financial issues facing the couple. Funds were spent on dayto-day expenses, Christmas presents and trips.
“That seems to me to be offending motivated to simply live a better lifestyle.”
Mr Mellas chose to jail Glenn Ould due to the bigger role he played in the scam.
“It’s clear that over a long period of time and on multiple occasions … Mr Ould could have stopped and decided ‘enough is enough’,” Mr Mellas said.
“But the behaviour continued and it continued right up until the business was effectively on the brink of failure.
“I need to impose a penalty that … sends a message to other like-minded people in the community that this sort of behaviour will be dealt with heavily.”
Rachel Ould burst into tears as custody officers escorted her husband from the courtroom.
On top of the prison term, Glenn Ould was sentenced to an 18-month community correction order that involves 200 hours of unpaid work.
Rachel Ould, 40, was also put on a correction order for 18 months, with 150 hours of community work.
Mr Mellas spared the woman jail after noting the harm that would be caused to the couple’s children if both parents were locked up.
The couple has also been ordered to repay the victims more than $55,000 that is yet to be recovered.