Former Melbourne charity boss, Angela Stathopoulos, has pleaded guilty to stealing more than half a million dollars from a not-for-profit organisation supporting vulnerable children, using the funds to bankroll a luxury lifestyle that included overseas holidays, concerts and designer clothing.
Stathopoulos, 49, from Murrumbeena, appeared in the County Court of Victoria on Tuesday, where she admitted to defrauding the Prahran Community Learning Centre (PCLC) of $531,111.52 between May 2011 and March 2022.
The court heard that during her 12-year tenure as CEO of the community organisation, Stathopoulos misappropriated charity funds for personal expenses including international travel, Disneyland trips, petrol, dance lessons for her daughter, beauty services, Netflix subscriptions and tickets to concerts by Miley Cyrus and Harry Styles.
A psychological report submitted to the court stated that Stathopoulos “knew it was wrong” but “could not resist an urge for constant acquiring of goods for self-gratification.” Psychologist Dr Carla Lechner told the court that the accused “believes she is a good person” despite having “constantly engaged in dishonest behaviour.”
Judge Gavan Meredith questioned why the offending continued for over a decade, and why Stathopoulos—who had the financial means to afford such purchases—did not fund her lifestyle legally.
The court was told Stathopoulos had repaid the stolen funds in full, assisted by her husband who runs a gardening business. The couple sold one of their investment properties to cover the restitution.
Her defence counsel, Joshua Sheppard, submitted that his client had expressed remorse, accepted responsibility for breaching the organisation’s trust, and could be considered for a community corrections order or suspended sentence. He argued that offenders who repay stolen funds are rarely imprisoned, according to The Herald Sun.
However, Crown Prosecutor Mr Cameron insisted that a term of imprisonment was necessary, describing the fraud as “calculated, protracted and morally reprehensible.”
“Most people don’t have $530,000 in savings to pay back,” Judge Meredith remarked, acknowledging the couple’s efforts to make restitution but questioning whether it outweighed the scale and duration of the fraud.
Stathopoulos’s offending came to light following an internal investigation initiated by PCLC’s new leadership. Forensic accountants uncovered years of financial mismanagement. Initially, Stathopoulos denied wrongdoing, claiming her expenses were legitimate, but failed to provide satisfactory explanations.
Former treasurer Maggie Burke testified that Stathopoulos actively obstructed oversight, blocking access to financial records and even physical access to the centre. She recalled the frustration of witnessing Stathopoulos “spending money on designer clothes on Greville Street” while refusing to allocate funds to the centre’s educational programs.
The fraud resulted in significant consequences for the organisation, including reputational damage and the loss of federal funding. Stonnington Council has since deferred any decisions regarding the renamed organisation to legal counsel.
Stathopoulos, taken into custody for the first time, will remain on remand until sentencing at a later date.
