Armidale conveyancer Sandra Henri Edmonds sentenced to prison after defrauding victims of $2.2 million in elaborate investment scheme

Sandra Henri Edmonds, 61, has been sentenced in Sydney Downing Centre District Court on two charges for defrauding multiple victims across more than three years.

Judge Peter Whitford imposed a jail sentence of four years and nine months, with two and a half years non-parole.

With time already served, Edmonds will first become eligible for release in February 2023.

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She is guilty of deception between July 2014 and February 2018 in Armidale by dishonestly obtaining credits to bank accounts and cash totalling $2,224,667.50.

She was also charged with dishonestly making false or misleading statements in materials to obtain financial advantage between March and August of 2015, though court documents show no conviction was recorded.

Edmonds, an Armidale conveyancer, falsely represented an investment opportunity and deceived her victims - including long term friends and clients - into handing over large sums.

"She immediately used the money from the purchase for her own personal gain," police facts said.

The lies and "concocted story" Edmonds told her victims allowed her to pocket their money and maintain the financial advantage obtained from the offences over a number of years, according to agreed facts.

In one instance, Edmonds took a total of $352,000 for herself from an Armidale pair she had known for about 30 years.

Despite the cash stash Edmonds acquired through her fraud scheme, police facts indicate she was in a "dire" financial position after using most of the funds to buy rural properties on the outskirts of Armidale, which she then refinanced and defaulted upon.

Strike Force Amaranthus police launched an investigation in early 2018 and ultimately arrested Edmonds in July that year.

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