Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Whiteman's victims: 'Our reputation has been destroyed'

Stephanie Arthur-Worsop
By Stephanie Arthur-Worsop
News Director, Rotorua Daily Post·Rotorua Daily Post·
27 Oct, 2016 06:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Pearce Flooring.

Pearce Flooring.

Malcolm and Maryanne Pearce say the battle continues to rebuild their reputation, which they say has been "totally destroyed" by a once-trusted former employee.

Pearce Flooring owner Mr Pearce said he spent 40 years building his businesses only to have it ruined in the space of two years by Tania Malcolm.

Malcolm, 38, who was referred to in court proceedings by her maiden name Whiteman, stole about $305,000 from Pearce Flooring over a two-year period. She was yesterday sentenced to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay reparation of $150,000 to the Pearces.

The Pearces spoke to the Rotorua Daily Post after the sentencing about the huge toll Whiteman's offending had on them.

"We've sold everything we could possibly sell. Three weeks ago we sold our other business Warehouse Carpets but we still can't cover the debt she's put us in," Mr Pearce said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.


Read more:
• Woman jailed for stealing $305K from employers

Mrs Pearce added: "We are as straight as the day is long, we're not dodgy people yet we are the ones being punished for Tania's dishonesty - we are the ones with the bad reputation just trying to stay afloat but being treated like the criminals."

Tania Whiteman at her sentencing in the Rotorua District Court yesterday.  PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER
Tania Whiteman at her sentencing in the Rotorua District Court yesterday. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

Mr and Mrs Pearce said Whiteman had never expressed any remorse for her offending.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There has been no apology, no remorse . . . I don't believe we will see a cent of those reparations," Mrs Pearce said.

"It's not over for us, we still have the IRD after us, our reputation has been destroyed, but we're not going to let her offending make us throw in the towel. It's just hard to see our retirement go down the gurgler."

Mr Pearce said they now had tight processes in place and found it difficult to trust people.

"I just want to make sure she never gets employed in this city again. I don't want anyone else to go through what we've had to go through, it's exhausting," Mrs Pearce said.

Discover more

New Zealand|crime

Woman jailed for ripping off Rotorua company again

19 Oct 07:00 PM

The couple said they were disappointed not only in the sentence but also the "drawn out" court process.

"The hard work for us is just beginning. There's been no closure with this sentence, our battle is nowhere near over."

Mr Pearce said he and his wife were "incredibly grateful" to loyal clients and staff who had stood by them and supported them throughout their ordeal.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

NZ Super Fund-backed Kaingaroa Timberlands expands with Waikato land purchase

01 Jul 05:43 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Zespri teams up with Dame Lisa Carrington

01 Jul 03:30 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Compliance concern: Growers oppose proposed geothermal water regulations

01 Jul 12:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

NZ Super Fund-backed Kaingaroa Timberlands expands with Waikato land purchase

NZ Super Fund-backed Kaingaroa Timberlands expands with Waikato land purchase

01 Jul 05:43 AM

Kaingaroa Timberlands has bought 9200ha of forestry land in South Waikato.

Zespri teams up with Dame Lisa Carrington

Zespri teams up with Dame Lisa Carrington

01 Jul 03:30 AM
Compliance concern: Growers oppose proposed geothermal water regulations

Compliance concern: Growers oppose proposed geothermal water regulations

01 Jul 12:00 AM
Fresh weather warnings issued for BoP

Fresh weather warnings issued for BoP

30 Jun 11:29 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP