Former sports centre manager Opal Taylor in the Hastings District Court. Photo/Warren Buckland
Former sports centre manager Opal Taylor in the Hastings District Court. Photo/Warren Buckland
A woman who defrauded the Hastings District Council of an amount understood to be $530,000 has pleaded guilty.
Opal Taylor, 60, appeared in the Hastings District Court this morning charged with 14 counts of using tax invoices or statements to dishonestly obtain a pecuniary advantage.
Interim name suppression, previously grantedat her last two appearances, lapsed today.
Taylor was manager at the Hastings Sports Centre until earlier this year.
Taylor failed to show at her last court hearing two weeks ago; her defence lawyer Bill Calver telling the court she was bedridden with a severe case of kidney stones at the time.
The offending started in 2004 and continued until the beginning of this year. Over the 14 year period she defrauded the council of $530,000.
Judge Max Courtney convicted and remanded Taylor on bail for a further two weeks to enable the Crown to consider the defence's submissions and advise whether or not a disputed facts hearing was required before sentencing.
The maximum penalty of each of the charges is seven years' imprisonment.
