A broker has admitted defrauding customers of almost $140,000 by taking payments for professional indemnity insurance and diverting them to her own bank account.

Cindy Lee Kenny, a former director and minority stakeholder at Brisbane-based OneSure, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years’ imprisonment at Rockhampton District Court last month, but the term was suspended after serving 15 months.

insuranceNEWS.com.au did not attend the hearing but the details have been confirmed by the court.

“The offender must not commit another offence punishable by imprisonment within a period of five years to avoid being dealt with for the suspended term of imprisonment,” a court spokesperson said.

Local newspaper The Courier Mail covered the case, reporting that the offences took place between June 2016 and September 2017.

The court heard that a review of accounts uncovered anomalies and a police investigation revealed Kenny made 55 deposits of OneSure client funds to her bank, creating false invoices with direct payments to her own account.

Kenny would then cancel the client’s policy and file a paper trail to cover her dishonesty, the court was told, leaving clients without cover.

The Courier Mail reported that OneSure lost a significant number of customers after the fraud was uncovered.

The court was told that Kenny had a gambling addiction and the motivation for the crime was her financial state.

OneSure is part of parent company, the Credit One group, and an authorised representative of PSC Connect.

A Credit One spokesman declined to comment on the case, other than to say everyone at the firm is relieved it is over.