Penny Lee Hof leaves court after being sentenced for stealing valuables from three Nanaimo homes when she was employed as a house cleaner. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

alarming thefts

‘Play stupid games and win stupid prizes’: Nanaimo house cleaner stole wedding rings and cash

Sep 12, 2024 | 4:41 PM

NANAIMO — A rogue maid with no prior criminal record hoped to keep her blatant indiscretions a secret.

Fighting back tears throughout her sentencing hearing, the actions of 54-year-old Penny Lee Hof were entered into the provincial court record in Nanaimo on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

Entrusted with cleaning three Nanaimo area homes over the course of two days in February 2023, Hof stole three wedding rings, a necklace stored in a safe, diamond earring studs and $500 cash.

Defence attorney Michael Ritzker told court his client is highly distressed by the pending publicity.

“She said quote: ‘play stupid games and win stupid prizes.’ It’s another way of her coming to terms with the outcome here and then she says ‘It’s all my fault.’ It’s rather devastating to her that she has tried to hide this from her daughter, who’s not going to be very happy when she finds out.”

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Crown counsel Kaitlyn Tourangeau laid out the facts after Hof pleaded guilty earlier this year.

Working on behalf of a local cleaning firm, Hof stole the items on Feb. 8 and 9 of last year at a pair of homes in Nanaimo’s Linley Valley neighbourhood, as well as a home in the rural South Wellington area.

A victim who noticed her two wedding rings were missing from her nightstand phoned Nanaimo RCMP, while a complaint was also lodged with the owner of the cleaning company.

The company owner then immediately informed other clients who were serviced by Hof to warn them, which resulted in two other allegations of thefts by Hof arising.

All three wedding rings were recovered after being positively identified from a Nanaimo pawn shop on Townsite Rd.

While most of the items Hof stole were returned, $500 cash was not recovered from one victim.

A necklace valued at $269 and the earrings belonging to another victim also didn’t resurface.

A receipt submitted from the pawnshop to Nanaimo RCMP showed Hoff was paid a little over $1,000 for the jewelry, which court was told had a much higher monetary value.

A distraught Hof leaves court with lawyer Michael Ritzker. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Impact statements from two victims were provided to the court, both of which relayed emotional and sentimental scars associated with the thefts.

“Secondly, your honour, is the lack of feeling of comfort in their homes, that you have somebody that you trusted to come into your home to assist you and you’re taken advantage of,” Tourangeau said.

Pre-sentence and psychological reports offered insight into the offender’s conduct.

The forensic assessment stated Hof stole the items in order to buy cocaine so she could reconnect with her ex-husband who she missed.

Tourangeau noted Hof battled previous substance misuse issues and found herself in a cycle of unhealthy male relationships featuring various forms of abuse.

Hof is diagnosed with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

She expressed regret for her actions to the report authors, while she apologized in court in a brief, barely audible statement.

Hof, a former residential care aide for more than 30 years has since moved away from Nanaimo and is currently working full-time in another Vancouver Island community.

She doesn’t have access to or control money in her role.

Court was told she’s currently on an extended run of sobriety.

Hof was handed a suspended sentence, followed by 18 months probation. It was part of a joint submission from Crown and defence.

While it’s not a jail sentence, Hof now has a documented criminal record.

She was ordered to fulfill the following obligations by Oct. 1, 2025: complete 50 hours of community service, pay $500 to one victim for the stolen cash and $450 to another for the stolen necklace and damaged safe.

Her probation includes counselling, no contact with the victims and was ordered to stay away from their properties.

“[The joint submission] avoids jail in exchange for other pro-social conditions that I submit should address some of the concerns within the community and that it is a more in-depth and more intensive probation order than one might typically see,” Tourangeau told court.

Judge Tamara Hodge said she was concerned Hof hadn’t informed family members about her offending.

Stating the offence could have warranted jail, judge Hodge said the conditions appropriately punish Hof, and will also hopefully deter other potential offenders.

“As a society, we don’t tolerate this kind of behaviour, individuals should be safe in having somebody come into their home, clean for them and not have to worry about being stolen from.”

While Hof was originally charged with three counts of theft under $5,000, as part of her guilty plea the charges were rolled into one offence.

She was charged in July 2023 and pleaded guilty this past May.

At one point Hof’s case appeared destined for trial, however she elected to plead guilty following a pre-trial conference.

Penny Hof briefly addressed court, saying she had largely lived an honest life and apologized for her conduct. (Facebook)

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Ian.holmes@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes