Marise Martin was sentenced to six months of community detention. Photo / Melissa Nightingale
A woman who once stole nearly $20,000 worth of gift cards from her workplace and later went on to defraud a children’s rugby team she managed can now be named.
Multiple parents have spoken to the Herald about the betrayal, with one saying she never would have sent money to the woman had she known about her fraudulent past.
Marise Martin was convicted earlier this year of theft for collecting funds for a team trip then spending a portion of the money on herself, but was previously unable to be named due to a lengthy bid for suppression.
Her name suppression, which was opposed by the Herald, lapsed in December, to the relief of her victims.
“I just want people to understand that sometimes your friends and people that you trust can take advantage of you, and it’s such a hard pill to swallow,” said Jacqueline Crumlish, one of several Hutt Valley parents who spoke to the Herald after being defrauded by Martin.
“I’m so happy that the name suppression has been lifted,” Crumlish said, noting Martin was still working in the community and that people “should be made aware”.
“I don’t want anyone’s hard-earned money to go to a fraudster.”
In 2022, Martin organised and handled the money for a group trip for about 15 children to compete at a rugby tournament.
One parent who spoke to the Herald in 2023 said families believed they had raised about $12,000 for the trip but the exact amount was not known because Martin handled the finances and did not keep an adequate record of the money.
Parents put the fundraised money into what they were told was the rugby club’s account, but was actually Martin’s personal bank account.
During the trip there were issues with the money, which led to multiple people having to fork out cash.
The lack of money meant the children were unable to do extra activities while away, and parents had to pay extra for food and bedding.
Grandfather Craig Charleton earlier told the Herald he handed over close to $3000 during the trip.
“I thought I was doing it to help their whole team,” he said.
Most parents believed the deficit was a result of a series of unfortunate events, but the next year, as parents started looking into planning another trip, some chose to confront Martin and lay a complaint with police.
She was eventually charged, and has pleaded guilty to theft, with the amount being revised to $1780 after she was able to source some receipts for legitimate spending.
At her sentencing in the Hutt Valley District Court earlier this year, Judge David Laurenson said the breach of trust was an aggravating feature.
“There’s no backing away from that. These people paid money expecting it to be used for a specific purpose, and it wasn’t,” he said.
According to the pre-sentence report, Martin showed poor problem-solving skills and a lack of consequential thinking.
Judge Laurenson noted Martin was willing to attend restorative justice and had attempted to pay back about $3000 before it was discovered the amount stolen was lower, both things which he considered mitigating factors.
“Mrs Martin has lived a constructive lifestyle otherwise,” he said, noting she had experienced “significant consequences” as a result of being charged, including having to leave the rugby club and move her children to a different school.
He said she was assessed as having a low risk of reoffending, and that she was considered suitable for an electronically monitored sentence.
He therefore sentenced her to six months of community detention.
Parent Claire Taylor, who spoke to the Herald in 2023, said she had considered Martin a friend.
“When you invite people into your life like that and then you find out this, it cuts pretty deep,” she said.
“I don’t give a s*** about the money. My motivation here is to stop [her] doing this to anybody else in the future.”
Crumlish this month said she was “totally oblivious” to Martin’s previous offending.
“She took advantage of all our friendship,” she said.
Now suppression was lifted, the victims could “finally breathe”.
“It’s been hard because no one could talk about it ... [she was] making us out as if we were in the wrong
“It’s so disgusting and disappointing ... It’s just mindboggling and I’m just so disappointed that [she] can do that.”
Crumlish said she was happy to be the last person Martin stole from if it meant it wouldn’t happen to another person.
Martin, who previously went by the surname Te Puni, was convicted in 2021 for stealing $19,696.25 worth of gift cards from the supermarket she worked in at the time.
According to a probation report, she said she and her partner were having trouble making ends meet when she committed the crimes.
She was sentenced to six months of community detention at the time and ordered to pay back the money.
When the Herald first approached Martin for comment on the rugby team offending in 2023, she said it had nothing to do with her previous crime.
“That’s my problem and my issue that I had with that workplace,” she said.
“I feel that I’ve done my time for that. In that place, again, I was backed into a corner ... I have now moved on.”
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 12 years.