A New Zealand grandmother who defrauded an elderly neighbour of $350,000 is to be deported from Australia.
Elderly woman holding person Photo: 123RF
Francesca Marzella had been living in Australia since 1981 but lost her visa when she pleaded guilty to fraud.
She had befriended an elderly woman who was living in a nursing home and suffering from dementia, who gave her property.
She sold it and claimed to have given the proceeds to charity, but was unable to provide receipts.
Ms Marzella's request to have her visa returned to her after her release from jail was turned down by Australia's Minister of Immigration Peter Dutton.
And last week, her appeal to the Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal was also rejected.
In a ruling, Tribunal deputy president Bernard McCabe said there was a risk Ms Marzella would re-offend and the Australian community expected non-citizens to obey the law.
