R v DeMarco

Eugene John DeMarco was sentenced in the High Court of New Zealand for charges of theft by a person in a special relationship and obtaining by deception. The court was required to determine the appropriate sentence considering the nature of the offending, the purposes and principles of sentencing, and any mitigating or aggravating factors. The court assessed the sophistication and magnitude of the offending, the harm caused, the motivation behind the crime, and the impact on the victims. The court found the starting point for sentencing to be three years and six months imprisonment, but adjusted it to account for the hardship on the defendant's family, resulting in a final sentence of two years and five months imprisonment for the deception charge and 18 months imprisonment for the theft charges, to be served concurrently.

The court concluded that the defendant's offending was sophisticated, involved serious breaches of trust, and had a significant impact on the victims and the community. Although there were no actual losses, the potential loss and harm were substantial. The court considered the defendant's offers of amends to be litigation settlements rather than genuine efforts to accept responsibility. The court also found that there was no genuine remorse demonstrated by the defendant. The only mitigating factor considered was the hardship the sentence would cause the defendant's young family, leading to a 30% reduction in the sentence. The final orders were for the defendant to serve two years and five months imprisonment for the deception charge and 18 months imprisonment for the theft charges, to be served concurrently.