Employee admits thefts of nearly $300,000

A Christchurch office administrator has admitted thefts from her employer totalling nearly $300,000.

Bernadine Claire Warren, 37, pleaded guilty in Christchurch District Court this morning to five theft charges stretching for more than three years from August 2006.

She used four different methods to manipulate payments, exchange rates, and accounts, to get $298,537 from a firm where she was employed as the office and accounts administrator.

After her guilty pleas, Judge Stephen Erber looked at her criminal record and told her defence counsel: "You should advise your client to order her affairs. This is the second time something like this has happened."

In the meantime, Warren was remanded on bail for a pre-sentence report, a report on her ability to pay reparation, and sentence on May 28.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Ross Unwin described the various methods Warren used to transfer funds from the employer into her personal bank account.

The firm's insurance company had paid out for some of the losses but reparations of $203,537 were being sought.

Warren told police she had just started her own business and was unable to meet mortgage payments or pay her bills.

- NZPA