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She was deeply unhappy, addicted to gambling and prescription drugs, and handled large amounts of money for the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB).
Over six years, the hospital employee stole around $ 1 million by diverting cash and other payments to fund a lavish lifestyle, including cosmetic surgery in Thailand, jet ski expenses and family gifts.
In his sentencing Wednesday in Christchurch District Court, Judge Tom Gilbert jailed the woman for three years, saying the crime displayed an “element of greed.”
He continued to suppress his name to allow his lawyer to seek instructions on whether to appeal his decision to reveal his name.
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The employee, in her 50s, complained after suspicions emerged in 2018. She would later say she was relieved to be caught, fed up with the lies to her family.
She was charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) with 475 fraudulent transactions between 2013 and 2018, and she pleaded guilty in August last year.
CDHB Acting Executive Director Andrew Brant said he was extremely disappointed in the former staff member.
“Our internal audit team was notified immediately when suspicions of the staff member’s actions were first raised … We then engaged Deloitte to investigate the matter and the police were notified.”
Alden Williams / Stuff
The woman used more than $ 200,000 she stole from the CDHB to fund a gambling addiction.
The CDHB immediately made changes to its systems in accordance with Deloitte’s recommendations, he said.
“We have ensured that no patient has out-of-pocket costs as a result of the individual’s actions and we are working with our insurers regarding the loss incurred by DHB.”
Judge Gilbert said the crime was a large-scale fraud and showed sophistication in setting up a company to clean money and offer discounts to debtors.
The crime had started little by little with the withholding of cash payments, but it accumulated year after year.
“If they hadn’t caught him, who knows where it would all have ended up,” the judge said.
Reports showed that the woman had led a life of general unhappiness and was addicted to online gambling and prescription drugs.
That gambling addiction had played a role in the crime and provided him with a temporary escape from his mental health problems.
“But it’s clear that he spent a lot of money on other things, living a life far beyond his means,” Judge Gilbert told him.
“This expense, like gambling, increased the more money he had in his hands. Surgery in Thailand, gifts for his family, jet skis expenses, and what I describe as overall living costs account for a sizable proportion of what he stole.
“There must have been a real element of greed in all of this, consistent with the fact that his offense continued to rise remarkably and only arrested for the fact that he was caught.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
Crown Prosecutor Mark Zarifeh.
“In any analysis, the breach of trust was significant. There has been a huge loss that will almost certainly never be repaid. “
A summary of the facts in court showed that the embezzled money was deposited into the woman’s two bank accounts from which she withdrew money for various expenses.
These included cash withdrawals, of $ 25,907; Christchurch Hospital, $ 4800; Christchurch Casino, $ 2,640; online gambling, $ 222,831; payments to the family, $ 41,937; finance companies and payday loans, $ 116,181; general living expenses, $ 439,264; expenses related to jet skis, $ 19,861; surgical expenses (including travel to Thailand), $ 44,185; and credit card transfers, $ 195,170.
Crown prosecutor Mark Zarifeh told the court that the crime was “premeditated and sophisticated” and that the defendant identified a blind spot in the system.
Money was stolen from funds that were not abundant, Zarifeh said.
“He had a high level of independence and control in his role, and no significant supervision. She blew that up, ”Zarifeh said.
It could have started out simply as holding cash, but it turned into a sophisticated scheme with a high degree of planning, he added.
ALDEN WILLIAMS / STUFF / Stuff
Defense attorney Phil Shamy.
Phil Shamy said that his client had cooperated with the OFS and was very sorry. He pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and did not require the SFO to prove the violation line by line, and simply could not remember every transaction.
“She has cooperated as much as she can.”
He said the woman had a horrible upbringing and suffered from real mental health problems, and that in a sense the crime was a form of self-medication and similar to substance abuse.
“There are definite psychological problems in this woman’s life. She has battled depression and various other addictive behaviors and abuse. To begin with, this woman was in a bad place. “
