Compulsive gambling leads to $1.6M theft

PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Family members of a Florida woman who stole $1.6 million blame her compulsive gambling.

Donna Duffer, 55, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing money from her former employer, the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The theft made victims of Duffer's employer, co-workers and her family, The Palm Beach Post said Sunday.

Bureau employees have had to pay back taxes since Duffer stole the withholdings from paychecks.

Her 68-year-old husband George, who handed the family finances over to Donna after he had a heart attack, had to sell their home and move into a trailer.

Duffer's husband and son say she was a victim of a gambling addiction, the Post said. She spent increasing amounts of time gambling in online casinos, and became secretive about family finances.

Eventually, Duffer's family talked her into joining Gambler's Anonymous, but it was too late. She marked nine months without gambling days before last week's sentencing.

Her attorneys presented evidence about gambling addiction during her trial, but Judge Lucy Chernow Brown rejected the argument, saying Duffer -- not her employer or her family or gambling -- was responsible for her crimes.