Staff 'embarked on extraordinary course of dishonesty' in $500k fraud: judge

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Ricky John Byrne, 50, Lisa Quilter, 47, and Steven Quilter, 46, were sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday, October 15.

Ricky John Byrne, left, Lisa Quilter, top right, and Steven Quilter, bottom right, leave court after their sentence. Pictures by Mardi Borg

Byrne and Steven Quilter previously pleaded guilty to obtaining property by deception, theft, and money laundering. Lisa Quilter had pleaded guilty to money laundering.

"This is a sentencing exercise that involves three otherwise honest people, who each embarked on an extraordinary course of dishonesty," Acting Justice James Stewart said.

"The dishonesty and gross breach of trust displayed by the offenders has had a devastating effect on the victim and his business."

"The business came close to collapsing."

The fraud and theft

Court documents state that Steven Quilter and Byrne started working at POPES Electrical and Data Supplies in Phillip in 2008.

From 2015, Steven Quilter was the branch manager and the other man a sales manager. They were responsible for the day-to-day running of the store.

Between 2016 and 2019, the two men defrauded the business of hundreds of thousands of dollars in false invoices, refunds and stock theft.

Steven Quilter and Byrne would buy electrical items from Harvey Norman and place them on the POPES' business credit card or account.

These items would then be either refunded into personal accounts, or added to the invoice statements of customers with large bills of up to $230,000 a month.

The two men also stole large amounts of stock directly from POPES. With the assistance of Steven's wife, Lisa Quilter, they would sell the items to associates, smaller businesses or place them on eBay.

The stolen items would be billed to large customers, who would pay at the end of the month, to cover stock losses at the store level.

Between May 2016 and October 2019, more than $460,000 in exchange for the stolen property was deposited into a joint bank account owned by the married couple.

Steven Quilter leaving court. Picture by Mardi Borg

About the same period, Byrne received more than $170,000 for his role in the theft.

The three offenders created hundreds of fake invoices as part of the enterprise.

A forensic accountant calculated the total loss suffered by POPES was more than $500,000. This included about $250,000 in commercial settlements paid to clients.

After claiming the insurance indemnity limit, the business was left more than $250,000 out of pocket.

The crimes were discovered in 2019 after a client queried a purchase order, believing they had been charged for items they never ordered.

Steven Quilter and Byrne quit several weeks later.

Business in 'death spiral'

While the matter was reported to police in October 2019, police did not search the homes of the fraudsters until March and April 2025.

Byrne was living in Queanbeyan at the time, while Steven and Lisa Quilter had moved to the Gold Coast in Queensland.

In a victim impact statement that was previously read to the court, the owner of POPES said the local business had been operating for 40 years.

Ricky John Byrne leaving court after his sentencing. Picture by Mardi Borg

The financial loss was "catastrophic" and put the business in "a financial and operational death spiral," the owner said.

He described discovering the crimes as "one of the most distressing experiences of my life".

"The shock, stress and sense of betrayal were overwhelming."

The owner said the business which used to have three stores in Canberra was now down to one in Mitchell, and staff had been cut by more than half.

'Exploited the trust'

During sentencing, Acting Justice Stewart said Byrne and Steven Quilter had "dishonestly exploited the trust" placed in them through their positions and intimate business knowledge.

"They chose to offend and they knew that what they were doing was dishonest."

The judge noted it could not be said that Lisa Quilter was in a position of trust or authority during the offending.

He said Byrne had told a court report author that he used the proceeds of crime to gamble. Lisa Quilter said her offending was motivated by financial pressures at the time, while Steven Quilter exhausted his share on gambling and a drug addiction.

Lisa Quilter outside the ACT Supreme Court. Picture by Mardi Borg

Acting Justice Stewart said the explanations provided by the three were "shallow."

"There are no satisfactory reasons for why these three offenders descended into dishonesty in their mid-lives," he said.

The judge found that the only prospect of the victim being compensated by the offenders was to keep them in the community working, as he assessed their capability to comply with reparation orders.

Acting Justice Stewart sentenced Byrne to 24 months in jail, and he was ordered to pay the company back $67,765.

Steven Quilter was sentenced to 35 months in jail and was ordered to pay the company back $183,623. Lisa Quilter was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Each of their sentences will be served in the community by way of an intensive correction order.

During sentencing, the judge noted that the three offenders had displayed varying levels of remorse and insight into the offending, and reports tendered to the court found they were all at a low risk of reoffending.

He also noted that Lisa Quilter was willing to participate in restorative justice.

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