Sri Lankan sentenced for defrauding charity

A Sri Lankan national has been jailed for defrauding a Queensland charity of more than $1.7 million to fund his online gambling addiction.

Dinesh Enoka Abeysuriya stole the money over the 12 months to March last year from Uniting Care Queensland which trades as Blue Care.

Abeysuriya skimmed money from inflated invoices and then spent it on online gambling.

The court heard that at the time the 29-year-old took the money he was suffering from a pathological addiction akin to drug addiction and was seriously dysfunctional.

Abeysuriya pleaded guilty in the District Court in Brisbane to two counts of fraud.

Judge Kerry O’Brien noted he had voluntarily returned from Sri Lanka to be sentenced.

He jailed Abeysuria for seven years with a parole eligibility date in November 2012.(ABC News)