Una Ebsworth
This is a real case study by one of our lawyers. The person who is in charge of this area in the firm is Una Ebsworth. Una is a Director and LIV Accredited Criminal Law Specialist at Doogue + George, recognised by Doyle's Guide as a Preeminent Criminal Defence Lawyer in Victoria (2026). With over 15 years of experience, she acts in complex fraud, drug prosecutions, homicide, sexual offences, and appellate work to the Court of Appeal and High Court of Australia.
View full profile →This is a case study on theft from an employer at the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court, where all charges were withdrawn after the prosecution case was shown to be insufficient.
Our client was an employee of a sports retailer and he held a managerial role within the business. He was charged with theft from employer and obtaining property by deception.
What is alleged to have occured?
The Prosecution alleged that our client was fraudulently creating refund transactions and keeping the cash from those refunds, as well as taking cash from the till. The total amount alleged to have been taken was significantly over$10,000.
What happened at court?
We represented the client at the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court.
Our client denied the allegations and the matter proceeded as a plea of not guilty.
We were able to demonstrate that the Prosecution case was inherently weak. The Prosecution could not adduce sufficient evidence to substantiate the offence and could not exclude the possibility that other employees could have had equal opportunity to commit the offences.
What was the result?
All charges were withdrawn.
DISCLAIMER: This is a real case study of an actual case from our files. Details pertaining to the client have been changed to protect their privacy. The sentence imposed and the charge have not been altered. These case studies are published to demonstrate real outcomes and give an indication of possible tariffs in Court. We do not guarantee a similar case on these charges will get the same result. Please note that we post results at our discretion, therefore while many case studies are average results, others are notable for their exceptional outcomes. PUBLISHED 25/02/2013
