Travel agent Price jailed

Dennis Price who has been jailed for six months.

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A Christchurch travel agent's sustained dishonesty has earned him a jail sentence.

Dennis Price, 54, was jailed for six months and ordered to make reparation of $40,039 when he appeared in the Christchurch District Court on 60 charges of obtaining by deception before Judge Jane Farish today.

However, Price might be out on bail by the end of the day as his lawyer James Rapley signalled he would be seeking bail for his client pending an appeal against sentence to the Court of Appeal.

The offending occurred when Price was employed by or working under the banner of Christchurch firm McCrory Thomas.

In 2004 and 2005 he took money from clients' accounts and paid the money to his own visa account or that of his partner.

Judge Farish said some of the amounts paid by clients were closely associated with amounts going into Price's TAB account.

Most of the money was paid back by Price although $10,000 was not repaid until a week before he left the firm in 2006.

Price is currently a director of Christchurch travel firm The Travel Practice which employs seven people.

Farish said Price deserved credit for his clean record and his paying most of the money back but his lack of insight into his offending which was clearly fuelled by his gambling problem required a term of imprisonment.

He had breached the trust of his employer and that of the travelling public who were entitled to an assurance their funds were handled honestly.

She also took into account Price's inability to continue working as a travel agent due to a resolution by the Travel Agents of New Zealand organisation last night forbidding any accredited travel agent from employing anyone with a criminal conviction.

Price is well known in Christchurch horse racing circles both as a large bettor and racing fan.