Kathlin Armstrong stole $182,734 from her organization Women's Justice Network
After stealing thousands from the charity she created, an Ex-prisoner avoids jail
A former prison inmate accused of stealing more than $180,000 from a non-profit charity she co-founded, some of which she spent in her home on building an air conditioning system, will escape time in jail.
Between 2016 and 2017, in a series of transactions ranging from $7818 and $55,604, Kathlin Armstrong, 53, the then chairman of the management board of The Women in Prison Advocacy Network, now the Women's Justice Network (WJN), stole $182,734 from the group.
Armstrong was sentenced at Sydney Downing Local Court on Thursday to an intensive corrective order of two years and six months, six months of which will be spent in home confinement. Under strict terms, she will serve the remaining time in the group.
The network that helps women during and after incarceration was co-founded by Armstrong in 2007.
Once described as a "beacon of hope" by former NSW attorney-general Brad Hazzard, Armstrong completed a law degree while in prison.
But in 2018, when it discovered a series of unauthorized payments to Armstrong, WJN's board handed their financial reports to the authorities.
In one example, on January 13, 2017, Armstrong transferred $3,200 from the bank account of WJN to pay an air conditioning company for the installation of a device in her home. She said that the payment was for "the office renovations of the... [WJN] office"
In 2018, she was convicted of eight counts of dishonestly gaining a financial gain by fraud and one of using a cell phone to threaten the former chief executive of the charity. A Sydney court found Armstrong guilty on all charges in October last year.
WJN released a statement online at the time that said it acknowledged the judgment of the court.
The NSW justice system has run its course, and the judgment that has been handed down is supported by WJN,"The NSW justice system has run its course, and WJN accepts the decision that has been handed down," WJN wishes to thank its government and corporate sponsors, workers, mentors and mentees during the trial for their continued support.
"WJN and its Advisory Panel comprising eight women with lived experience of the justice system will continue to work to allow women and girls affected by the justice system to live free from violence, benefit from adequate living standards, be treated with dignity and respect, and be empowered to secure and preserve their individual rights."