Melbourne socialite jailed for $6m theft

A Melbourne businesswoman and socialite had an "unhealthy desire to shine" when she stole millions from her employer to fund her gambling habit.

Connie Paglianiti stole more than $6 million while she was working as a bookkeeper and running her own events business, Eventcepts.

She hosted charity functions for the Alannah and Madeline Foundation and the Royal Women's Hospital, reportedly featuring celebrities including Susan Sarandon.

"The vast majority of what you stole went into poker machines and was simply lost," Judge Liz Gaynor said in the County Court on Thursday.

The events company owner has been jailed for four years and must serve at least two-and-a-half years before being eligible for parole.

Paglianiti's low self-esteem developed into an "unhealthy desire to shine in some way" and the event business was meant to be that opportunity for her, Judge Gaynor said.

But she began the business with a chef who fled the country and left her saddled with more than $440,000 in debt.

She started to play the pokies as a pleasurable activity, but it soon escalated, and she tried to win back money she had lost.

"The hole you dug yourself into became deeper and wider," Judge Gaynor said.

The businesswoman lost at least $1.5 million playing the pokie machines at Crown Casino, spending between five to six nights a month there.

Her thefts were "widespread and longstanding" and breached a personal and professional relationship that had existed for 20 years, the judge said.

But Judge Gaynor took into account her remorse and early guilty plea in her sentence.

"This offending was so wide ranging, so serious and such a breach of trust only jail can be an appropriate sentence," she said.