Image: The Daily Telegraph
A former executive of the Seven Network has today been jailed after being found guilty of defrauding the network of $8 million.
AAP reports John Michael Fitzgerald was today sentenced to 5 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of obtaining money by deception and four counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage.
A former commercial manager at Seven, Fitzgerald stole the money in a series of transactions between 2003 and 2016.
When he was eventually confronted by the network, he confessed to the crime and provided a detailed spreadsheet that detailed the numerous transactions.
In conversations with a psychologist, Fitzgerald blamed a mid-life crisis for his crimes, believing he had reached a stage in his life were “I thought I hadn’t achieved enough,” and that it was “too easy to do”.
The money was spent on a mix of real estate, home renovations, vehicles, shares and holidays.
Speaking to TV Blackbox, a Seven source noted the plea of guilty and;
“expressed regret at the breach of trust and that the court had recognised a clear breach of duty by a senior production accountant had occurred.
Seven expended considerable time and costs in recovering the proceeds misappropriated including by sale of the family home which had minimised the overall loss and the company claiming on insurance, and the cooperation was reflected in the sentence.
A lot of employees still feel very let down by a senior colleague “
Fitzgerald will be eligible for parole in 3 years.
Additional reporting by Kevin Perry.
