A former Victoria paralegal was given a three-year jail sentence after entering a guilty plea for embezzling $343,077 from her employer to fund her alcohol and cocaine habits.

Melissa Cielen, 49, was employed by a Victoria lawyer from 2010 to 2022 and though she was a paralegal, she also performed managerial jobs which included paying bills.

Over four years, between 2018 to 2022, she made almost $350,000 in payments to herself, disguising them as routine office expenses such as court fees or litigation support vendors.

"In 2018, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer.  At about the same time, she began to abuse alcohol and cocaine.  She used the money which she embezzled to support those habits.  In 2021, she was admitted to a local hospital, where she was diagnosed with severe alcohol use disorder and moderate cocaine use disorder," noted the judge's decision.

Cielen was sentenced to three years in a correctional facility, and there is also a restitution order to pay back the $ 343,077, though the judge noted she is a low risk for re-offending.

"Embezzlement is a crime which requires forethought and planning. In many cases, as in this one, it is carried out over a period of years. The potential offender has plenty of time to consider the potential consequences of their actions," noted the judge. "For that reason: the prospect of a jail sentence is likely to be a more effective deterrent in relation to embezzlement than it is in relation to many other types of offences."