'Con Air' Kiwi denies convictions, says she's struggling on emergency benefit

Three months after being deported from Australia on a so-called "Con Air" flight, convicted fraudster Debra Forster says she is struggling to get by on $200 a week.

Forster was one of 14 New Zealand-born deportees - two women and 12 men - flown to Auckland Airport on September 18 aboard an Australian chartered aircraft.

Almost three months on, the former Gold Coast property developer said she was "scraping by" with an emergency benefit.

"I still don't have my feet grounded," she said. "I'm getting $200 a week to survive on and I'm living in a motel."

She earlier claimed to have been picked up for driving without a current licence, and said her case compounded until she was detained at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre pending the deportation order.

However, documents since obtained from the Southport District Court in Queensland show Forster pleaded guilty to fraud and stealing in February 2011.

This week, Forster still denied the convictions, claiming the 2011 fraud was a "civil matter" and was thrown out by a magistrates court.

"As a property developer you get to discover people like work done but they don't want to pay for it," she said. "In this case, the client provided the cheques then decided not to honour them.

"The magistrate found that the charges against me didn't hold up."

According to the Southport District Court documents however, Forster pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 12 months after a period of four months' imprisonment.

Forster also claimed to be suffering from numerous health problems, incurred during her time in detention.