The sentence of a former Qualicum Beach resident who defrauded seniors out of thousands of dollars has been upheld.

Judith Slobbe, 64, had appealed her eight-year and three-month sentence for diverting $712,283 at the Fraserview Intermediate Care Lodge in Richmond, arguing that the sentence was too harsh and her guilty plea was not given proper weight as a mitigating factor.

The three judges on the B.C. Court of Appeal disagreed, ruling that while the sentence was indeed high, it was not out of line with Slobbe’s crimes.

After Slobbe was fired in 2004, she moved to Vancouver Island, where she bilked elderly Port Alberni residents out of thousands more, which she spent on jewelry, cars, travel, furniture and clothes.