Accountant stole $80k from life-saving club, elderly mother

File photo / NZ Herald

An accountant who stole more than $80,000 from her local surf life-saving club, parent teacher association and her elderly mother to fund a gambling addiction, has lost a long-running legal battle to keep her identity a secret. Dunedin surf life-saving and swimming identity Lynn Robertson pleaded guilty to three charges of theft by a person in a special relationship.

A district court judge sentenced her to four months' home detention and 200 hours community work.

The court heard that Robertson stole the money between 2009 and 2011 to fund her gambling habit.

In her role as treasurer of a surf life saving club, she admitted stealing $24,654.60, and while treasurer of a parent teacher association stole $3000.

The court also heard that while having power of attorney over her mother's bank account, she stole $54,358.93.

Following her mother's death, Robertson repaid all of the money from her share of the estate.

She argued at her sentencing that publication of her name would be likely to endanger her safety and cause extreme hardship to her, her family and her employer.

Robertson also provided medical evidence to support her application and also believed she would lose her job as a technician accountant at a small accounting firm.

Judge Raoul Neave rejected the bid for name suppression, saying that the hardship that would follow from publication of her name would not be out of the ordinary.

Robertson appealed the district court decision to the High Court but it was dismissed by Justice David Gendall.

She then took her case to the Court of Appeal.

In a new judgement out today, Court of Appeal judges also rejected her bid.

An interim suppression order has now expired and Robertson can be named for the first time.