The heartless geriatric nurse who stole $ 142,000 from her ex-boyfriend and used the money to buy clothes, a car and a wedding with her NEW lover avoids jail
- Woman narrowly escaped jail after stealing $ 142,000 from her former partner
- Elderly nurse sentenced to two years of community service in Melbourne
- The two met and started a relationship in the mid-2000s after looking after elderly parents
- Have the stolen money ready for a new lover’s wedding, car, and cash withdrawals
A geriatric nurse who stole $ 142,000 from her ex-partner and used the money to fund her wedding to her new lover narrowly escaped jail time for the brazen theft.
Melbourne-based Ms. Marie Heeraman, 52, robbed her former partner Michael Peirce for $ 142,000 of his mother’s inheritance between 2014 and 2016.
Heeraman was sentenced to two years in prison by the district court on Tuesday after pleading guilty of theft. She has to do 350 hours of community service.
The two met in the mid-2000s when Heeraman was looking after their victim’s elderly parents.
Marie Heeraman (pictured) narrowly escaped jail time after stealing more than $ 140,000 from her former partner
They later entered into a relationship, with Heeraman claiming to be his best friend.
Peirce relied largely on Centrelink’s income before receiving an inheritance of $ 234,000 from his mother.
Two years later, he wanted Heeraman to help him cut his expenses and prevent his family from accessing his money, so they opened an account in their name and deposited $ 198,000.
Heerman was supposed to help Peirce manage his money by paying for his expenses and providing him with limited amounts of cash.
Without Peirce’s knowledge, she soon transferred most of the money to a separate bank account in her name.
Between October 2014 and August 2016, Heeraman spent her victim’s legacy on wedding dresses, alcohol, groceries, housewares, clothing, beauty and cash withdrawals in 808 transactions.
Their relationship ended and Heeraman married her new partner in 2016.
Much of the money was used for their wedding, including $ 1,057 on bridal wear and apparel, $ 4115 on music and event management, and $ 6,055 on hair and beauty.
Marie Heeraman urged her former lover to use Centrelink’s income to pay his bills as she covered up her theft
She also used her victim’s money to buy a new Peugeot car for $ 27,000.
Heeraman told Peirce that she could be counted on and that she would “really help” him spend his money wisely.
She made attempts to cover up her theft, asked her victim to use his Centrelink income to pay his bills, and encouraged him to find a job.
“You just know that I love you and am very important to me and that I will always be there for you, even if nobody else seems to care,” she wrote in a text message to Peirce three months after her marriage to her new partner.
‘You will always be my dearest friend and yes, for a lifetime. You can count on me.’
“I’m really helping you spend your year wisely and save, and one day you’ll thank me for it,” was another message from 2016.
Their plan was thwarted when Peirce tried unsuccessfully to gain access to the funds on the original account and found that most of it was gone.
County Court Judge Sarah Dawes said Heeraman’s breach of trust was significant.
In his victim declaration, Peirce said Heeraman left him with “constant tension”, psychological stress, depression, severe insomnia and that he was now “socially withdrawn”.
He said she left him feeling that he couldn’t trust anyone in his life.
Heeraman (pictured) was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty of theft
Heeraman has since borrowed more than $ 130,000 from her brother, who has taken out a loan to help her repay everything she owes.
Judge Dawes told Heeraman that she narrowly avoided jail.
