A Far South Coast mother stole more than $1.1 million from her employers, using every cent of the funds to feed her son’s crippling gambling addiction, Wollongong District Court heard yesterday.Diane Felkin spent nearly seven years defrauding a Batemans Bay car dealership, transferring funds into her own accounts before handing it over to her son, who spent it at casinos and online gaming sites.The 61-year-old made more than 100 unauthorised transactions while working at Batemans Bay Motors, covering the missing money with references to non-existent vehicle pay-outs, staff holiday pay and bonuses, loans and purported transfers to the Australian Taxation Office, the court was told yesterday.Felkin admitted to stealing more than $100,000 when she was questioned about the dodgy transfers in 2008 but made no reference to her son’s out-of-control gambling, instead telling the owners she had spent the money on ‘‘bills’’.Giving evidence yesterday, the Batemans Bay mother conceded she was in denial at the time about the devastating extent of the fraud but had deliberately avoided admitting her true motivation for the offences.‘‘I had just spent seven years trying to save him,’’ she said. ‘‘I wasn’t going to drop him in the middle of it; he was finally getting to a good place.’’Felkin told the court her son’s severe habit began when he was 20 and gradually ‘‘took over both their lives’’ as he continued to demand money, threatening to end his life if he didn’t have cash to gamble.Fearing her son would take his life and still reeling from her other son’s suicide in 1991, Felkin squeezed her own savings to maintain her son’s habit. When that dried up, she turned to her employers.Between 2001 and 2007, the woman made 114 unauthorised transactions from her employer’s accounts, using her unfettered access to pilfer $1,150,862.18 and move it into three accounts in her name, facts before the court said.In March 2008, the dealership’s owners questioned Felkin about the fraud, and she offered to pay back $175,000, transferring $200,000 to the business about two months later.Internal investigations revealed further fraudulent transfers and the matter was reported to police.Felkin told the court yesterday she had put every stolen dollar into her son’s habit, depositing the cash into his account and using the rest to pay off credit cards.She said her son and his former partner would drive to casinos in Melbourne and Canberra to gamble despite her pleading with him to stop.‘‘Every time I took money and gave it to my son, I begged him not to ask for more,’’ she said. ‘‘I would leave some money in my account until the next lot. I just tried to drag out the cash.‘‘I asked him to get help, to go to Gamblers Anonymous or talk to his father [but he wouldn’t].’’ Felkin said she found it difficult to live in the community, particularly after a recording of the 2008 meeting with her one-time employers had been circulated around the town.The court heard Felkin’s crimes were a breach of trust but were motivated by the addiction of her troubled son, who had threatened to take his own life if she didn’t give him money.The court was told Felkin had showed contrition for the offences, had no criminal record and had been taking anti-depressants for many years for post-traumatic stress disorder.Felkin pleaded guilty to 18 counts of obtaining money by deception, and a further 86 charges are set to be taken into account on sentencing.Judge Paul Conlon yesterday reserved his sentence judgment and adjourned the matter to next Wednesday