Sentences for large-scale systematic breaches of trust involving fraudulent conversion should be increased beyond historical norms. Deterrence is the predominant sentencing factor for this type of offending. The moral blameworthiness of premeditated, deliberate and repetitive breach of trust offending compares unfavourably with typical multiple housebreaking, and the description of the crime as fraudulent conversion should not disguise that it is a form of stealing on a grand scale. A sentence of 9 years for misappropriation of approximately $240,000 over four and a half years was reduced to 8 years only because the amount was significantly lower than in other recent cases and the sentence needed to preserve scope for longer sentences when larger amounts are involved.
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