Northland woman sentenced for money laundering

Anna Peasnell was sentenced to community work for allowing a concert ticket scammer the use of her bank account. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Anna Peasnell allowed the use of her bank account to deposit the ill-gotten gain from a concert ticketing scam but is refusing to reveal who masterminded the scheme.

The 52-year-old Northlander wasn't sent to jail when she appeared for sentencing in the Whangārei District Court last week after earlier pleading guilty to a representative charge of engaging in a money laundering transaction.

Instead, she was sentenced to 150 hours' community work, 12 months' supervision, and ordered to pay reparation of $280.

The Crown supported a non-custodial sentence.

Judge Duncan Harvey said Peasnell was very fortunate that the Crown took what he regarded as a "merciful" approach as institutions such as Parliament, courts, as well as the community viewed such offending as serious.

That was why the offence has a specific charge, he said.

Judge Harvey said a person bought two concert tickets that were advertised on Facebook and paid $280 into an account operated by Peasnell.

"This was a scheme because the moment the money was paid, the seller who you knew blocked the account, and clearly took out the money from your account."

He said there were a number of other transactions all of which occurred in March 2019 when money was paid into her account.

Her lawyer Martin Hislop said she received $100 out of the ticket sales but was too afraid to tell who masterminded it.

He said Peasnell's bank account has been closed due to the offending and that she could pay reparation in four weeks and was able to do community work.

Crown lawyer Siobhan Patia said Peasnell's role was vital because without a bank account, no money could have been deposited or withdrawn in relation to the scam.

Judge Harvey said he was not so naive to believe Peasnell didn't know what was going on when she allowed her bank account to be used.

In May, Whangārei woman Kyleeann Saunders was sentenced to six months home detention for allowing her bank account to be used by two others running a scam through social media to get money for fictitious concert tickets.

Lulu Amberlee Pou headed the scam and was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to 24 charges of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.