A gambling addict who stole more than $324,000 from the sons of a deceased advertising legend continued to fleece them while their father was dying.
Ad agency fraudster Steph Leddin was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court on Monday to three months in jail after pleading guilty to multiple fraud charges.
Leddin was a producer at Melbourne ad firm Sunday Gravy when she swindled $324,518 via a 'deliberate and protracted' racket between March 2021 and January 2024.
The now 35-year-old left the agency financially crippled. Brothers Jack and Ant White had founded the company as 'GEN C' in 2015.
The brothers' father Tony White had been a heavyweight of Australia's advertising industry until his death in October 2024, aged 85.
It was revealed Leddin's skullduggery went on unabated as the White's famous dad, who revived Melbourne's Moomba festival while director for 12 years and was instrumental in Hey Hey It's Saturday's rise to TV popularity, was on his deathbed.
The court heard Leddin, a mother, stole the money to feed her gambling addiction to online casino's, which she used nightly.
Leddin used her position managing budgets on the agency's shoots to siphon company funds into her own accounts.
Ad agency fraudster Steph Leddin was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court on Monday to a three-month jail term
She set up an elaborate scheme where she created bogus invoices for services and goods from suppliers that never existed.
The fake invoices contained real suppliers and ABNs, but included bank account details linked to Leddin.
Leddin, who was full-time until November 2023 and did freelance work until February 2024, rinsed Sunday Gravy via 77 illegal transactions during the offending period.
Her illicit conduct was uncovered after Sunday Gravy replaced her with a new freelance producer who discovered the bogus payments.
Jack White contacted Leddin seeking an explanation and was given an apology and agreement to enter into a payment plan.
'I need you to know that my intent was never, ever to hurt you or anyone else,' Leddin told Mr White in a text message.
'I realise that I have done that regardless and I feel ashamed as a person, a mother but more important as a friend.
'I have lost people who I truly, truly care about and that is something I will have to live with for my entire life. I know you asked me why on the phone but I was frozen.
Leddin ripped off the sons of late Australian advertising legend Tony White (left)
'Desperate situations resulted in desperate decisions and I take full accountability for it. I don’t want or deserve a reply, as I respect that I need to talk to your lawyer, but please know that none of these decisions were made for selfish or fun, recreational reasons.
'I will live with this regret forever and I hope that maybe a long way down the line, it can be remembered that I am a good person who just did a truly horrible and unforgivable thing.'
Mr White and his brother compiled evidence and delivered the brief to police in May 2024 after Leddin failed to adhere to the payment plan.
Leddin, who moved to Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast where she lives with her partner and child, was contacted by Queensland Police in February last year.
Leddin later admitted she fleeced the money to fund her debilitating gambling addiction.
In his victim impact statement, Jack White said he had known Leddin for eight years and 'because of that history, she was someone I trusted'.
'My wife was pregnant with our second child and at the same time my father was dying,' Mr White said.
'I had no choice but to sell the family home. This was something I never imagined would happen as a result of trusting someone I’d known for so long.'
Leddin, who moved to Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast where she lives with her partner and child, was contacted by Queensland Police in February last year
Mr White also told the court Leddin's criminality had the 'potential to destroy' Sunday Gravy.
The court heard Leddin has struggled to come to terms with the death of her mother, who died after a long breast cancer battle when her daughter was just 21.
Leddin also submitted she was currently pregnant and anytime in prison would be more burdensome because her child was due in September.
The court heard Leddin's partner works long hours in Queensland as a project manager for a plumbing crew and her time in jail will lead to hardship for their four-year-old son who she 'desperately wanted to parent'.
Judge Stewart Bayles said Leddin 'will be experiencing prison while pregnant'.
'This will be an added cause of stress and anxiety for you which will increase the burden of imprisonment,' Judge Bayles said.
'You will be separated from your four-year-old son and will be unable to parent him during this time, this will cause anguish for you.
'You will no doubt suffer an additional sense of shame and guilt having brought this about.'
Tony White was instrumental in making TV show Hey Hey It's Saturday a big hit
Leddin, who has repaid just $4250, has a 'willingness' to repay the entire amount she stole, the court was told.
Judge Bayles said Leddin's 'sophiscated offending' would have required 'some thought, planning and preparation together with sustained follow through'.
'The offending was committed in the course of your professional work... victim impact was significant,' he said.
'Your moral culpability for this offending must be required as high, I accept you likely had a gambling addiction at the time and that was a motivating factor for the offending.' ]
Leddin was jailed for three months and handed a a 30-month community correction order which the court heard she will apply to have transferred to Queensland upon her release.
Leddin was also ordered to perform 100 hours of unpaid community work.
