A Sydney woman who was once crowned 'Woman of the Year' for her fundraising efforts to fight breast cancer will be hauled before a judge after fleecing nearly $200,000 from her employer.
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who → crown → employer
Julie McKinnery, from Caringbah in Sydney's south, stole $197,494.73 from Paragon Plumbing, where she worked as a bookkeeper, by diverting payments intended for suppliers into her own bank accounts.
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she → steal → accounts
Her six-year deception unravelled in September 2025 when an overdue $814 payment to a supplier was discovered while she was on annual leave, according to police documents seen by the Daily Telegraph.
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she → unravel → Telegraph
'The accused had been diverting payments owed to suppliers to her own personal bank accounts,' the police facts said.
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facts → accuse → accounts
'This was achieved by the manipulation of supplier card files in the MYOB system.
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This → achieve → system
The accused changed the details of a supplier to a personal bank account, the invoice would be paid, appearing on Paragon Plumbing records to be paid to the legitimate supplier – however, the funds would go to the accused's account.'
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funds → accuse → account
McKinnery's duties at the plumbing business included making account payments, organising bank guarantees and managing supplier invoices.
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duties → include → invoices
She often covered her tracks by changing the supplier's account details back after the fraudulent payment had been made.
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payment → cover → details
McKinnery would also overpay or duplicate supplier invoices before requesting refunds for the excess amounts into her own bank account.
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McKinnery → overpay → account
Julie McKinnery stole nearly $200,000 from her employer through her bookkeeper position
Cronulla MP Mark Speakman once described McKinnery as a 'fundraising powerhouse'
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Speakman → steal → powerhouse
According to police facts, McKinnery defrauded the company across 202 transactions and made three unauthorised credit card purchases, with the largest single fraudulent payment totalling $37,626.77.
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McKinnery → accord → 37,626.77
After the company discovered the missing funds in September 2025, McKinnery was issued with a show cause notice.
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McKinnery → discover → notice
McKinnery, who had been celebrated in her local community for raising more than $75,000 for breast cancer research, later admitted what she had done in a letter to the company, declaring she would 'take full responsibility.'
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she → celebrate → responsibility
'I had been going through a very difficult period personally and wrongly convinced myself I was owed more for the work I had done,' McKinnery explained in the letter.
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McKinnery → go → letter
'That was a terrible mistake and completely unacceptable – I'm totally ashamed of my actions and the breach of trust I caused.'
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I → cause → trust
McKinnery was sacked just days after sharing photos of herself travelling around Europe with members of her Facebook community group, 'Julie's Biggest Pink Breakfast'.
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McKinnery → sack → group
'Spreading the word through Turkey,' she captioned a photo of herself relaxing on a beach in southern Turkey, before sharing more images from Greece and Venice, as well as photos of herself relaxing poolside on a cruise ship.
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herself → spread → ship
Her post-holiday glow took another hit days later when she was forced to cancel her annual 'Big Pink Ribbon Breaky' due to 'personal reasons.'
McKinnery's sacking came days after she shared images of herself jetsetting around Europe
She said she was celebrating the end of her holiday in Venice, before returning to Australia to plan her annual breast cancer fundraiser
'
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she → take → fundraiser
It’s with a heavy heart that I share the news that the Big Pink Breaky won’t be going ahead this year,' she wrote in an online post on September 22, 2025.
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she → ’ → September
'Due to personal reasons, I’ve had to step back from organising the event, and this was a really tough decision...
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this → step → event
When a follower later asked why she had cancelled the popular event, McKinnery replied: 'Crazy times x'
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McKinnery → ask → event
She later pleaded guilty to five counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception.
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She → plead → deception
During a recent hearing at Sutherland Local Court, McKinnery’s solicitor said she was prepared to repay every cent owed to the insurer that had compensated Paragon Plumbing for its losses.
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that → say → losses
She will be sentenced on December 15.
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She → sentence → December
Do you know more?
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you → know → more
Aussie mum reveals how one scam call led to $13k being wiped from her savings: 'They took everything'
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They → reveal → everything
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