A Hamilton woman who blames her opioid addiction for stealing $3.4 million from her bosses apologized in court, saying they were like family to her.

Ruth Seguin, 57, the once-trusted chief financial officer of Dan Lawrie Insurance Brokers in Hamilton, read her apology letter at her ongoing sentencing hearing on Monday. Dan and Bob Lawrie were not in court to hear it.

"What I did was really hurtful," she said through tears. "Addiction led me to a very dark place."

Seguin said she loved working for the Lawries and there is no excuse for what she did. "It was horrific, knowing what I was doing to you both."

She pleaded guilty in June to defrauding the insurance broker over a period of five years, from 2011 to 2016, by cashing cheques made out to the company, or transferring money from company bank accounts into her own.

Her lawyer, Andrew Confente, said Seguin, a once-respected employee, is a familiar story to the courts — becoming addicted to prescription and then illicit street opioids after back surgery.

"She is what we'd categorize as a functioning addict," he said, despite her "$3,000-a-day habit."

"The house of cards collapsed in (December) 2016," he said, leading Seguin to attempt suicide just after the fraud was exposed. Company CEO Dan Lawrie was alerted by the bank that Seguin was depositing company cheques into her own personal account or cashing them.

Confente said Seguin has been on a suboxone program and "sober" since then.

He told the court that her guilty plea is a sign of remorse and saved the victims from having to testify at a trial, and submitted that her sentence should be no more than three to three-and-a-half years.

Confente added that Seguin's ongoing guilt makes her unable to forgive herself — which concerns her doctors.

Crown prosecutor Fraser McCracken told the court in August that the money was used to feed Seguin's drug habit and is all gone.

While he acknowledged her addiction, he said that "at the end of the day, she was still able to go to work, she was still in a position of trust, and there were numerous points along the way where she could have stopped the fraud."

McCracken called for a prison term of four-and-a-half to five years and a restitution order, although it was unclear how Seguin could pay back the money.

Confente argued on Monday against restitution, saying a civil court judgment in which Dan Lawrie Insurance successfully sued Seguin has already made such an order.

He pointed out she has no ability to repay the money — or even earn a living in the future — because of her medical conditions, conviction and tattered reputation.

Confente asked instead for a fine in lieu of forfeiture.

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Seguin returns to court on Thursday for sentencing.

cfragomeni@thespec.com

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