Aaron Dyer stole more than $15,000 in one year from his employer but it will take him more than 15 years to pay it back.
The 25-year-old, who had admitted four charges of theft by a person in a special relationship, was sentenced in the Whangarei District Court yesterday tosix months of home detention.
Dyer, unemployed, had worked for iconic Whangarei business Arthur's Emporium between November 23, 2010, and December 14, 2011. Known as "Arthur's", the long established business sells an eclectic range of items.
Judge Duncan Harvey said Dyer was employed to sell merchandise through Trade Me under Arthur's Trade Me account.
However, he began selling products, including braid rope, assorted knives, wallpaper, paint and hats, using his own Trade Me account and pocketed the money.
Between November 2010 and March 2011, Dyer sold 44 items valued at $4970 and a further $3303 worth of items between April and June 2011. Dyer sold 24 items worth $3272 from July to September and the last lot was sold for $3999. Judge Harvey said Dyer sold a total of 113 items for $15,544. Freight charges took the value to $20,492.
He will have to pay just over $16,000 back to Arthur's Emporium owner Arthur Brasting - at $20 a week year it will take 16 years. The weekly amount will be re-assessed if he starts work.
Defence lawyer Wiremu Puriri said Dyer acknowledged the offending constituted a bad breach of trust over a considerable period of time.
Judge Harvey said the pre-sentence report noted if Dyer's offending had not been detected, he would have continued deceiving his employer.
"There's a need to hold you accountable and the need to send a message that the consequences will be dire for those who steal from their employers," he said.
