Doctor Abraham Stephanson spent patients' donated money on gambling and his own bills. -AAP Image
A doctor has been sentenced to three years in jail after defrauding 19 people out of almost $800,000 to fund his gambling addiction.
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Abraham Stephanson, 50, appeared in the County Court of Victoria on Tuesday after admitting to 19 charges including obtaining financial advantage by deception.
Judge George Georgiou said Stephanson, who had a prior criminal history, exploited his position as a trusted doctor to fund his habit.
"It is plain in my opinion that you were addicted to gambling and that's why you offended," the judge said.
Stephanson solicited thousands of dollars between 2019 and 2020 from 19 people, most of whom were his patients.
He claimed the funds were to treat his father's terminal cancer, but instead he used the money to spend on popular online betting website Betfair and to pay bills.
His father was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2014 and myeloma in 2017 and used his own money to pay for treatment.
Stephanson's victims expressed feelings of betrayal and breach of trust in impact statements read out in court.
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