Woman fleeces $823k from Waikato charity

A Waikato woman has admitted taking money from a charity and depositing it into her own bank account and joint accounts with her husband. Photo / File

A trusted employee transferred more than $800,000 from a charitable organisation into her own accounts with references such as “grateful volunteers” and “koha”.

The Waikato woman, in her 40s, appeared to start taking tens of thousands of dollars once she gained the organisation’s trust and took on more responsibility by having operating authority on a number of its accounts.

However, the names of the thief and the organisation remain secret as they have name suppression.

It’s unclear whether the woman will be able to be named if the charity succeeds in its suppression bid.

She appeared in the Hamilton District Court this morning, where, through her lawyer Mark Jepson, she pleaded guilty to theft by a person in a special relationship.

The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years.

She was convicted by Judge Kim Saunders and remanded in custody for sentencing until June.

‘Refund’, ‘koha’, ‘volunteers’

Given the woman’s suppression, the exact details of her offending can’t be printed.

However, the summary of facts shows she was employed by the organisation for about four years as a senior administrator.

She helped a senior staff member execute their everyday tasks.

As the offender’s role developed, she took on more responsibility around the bank accounts and finance and gained “operating authorisation” on a number of the organisation’s accounts.

Her thefts began in 2022, and, for one ASB account she jointly had with her husband, continued until September last year.

She made deposits totalling $490,841.55 with deposit references including “grateful volunteers” and “koha”.

She also put $10,530 into her Kiwibank account with references including “refund” and “maara kai”.

In her and her husband’s Heartland Bank account, she deposited a further $100,274.60 with references including “volunteers”.

She deposited a total of $190,126.77 into their ANZ shared account.

The woman also had the organisation’s petty cash Eftpos card and made deposits worth $24,572.50 at ATM cash machines for her own purposes, and never provided any receipts.

Throughout July and August last year, she used the Eftpos card “in emergency situations” to top up her personal Travelex card with $7482.30.

The total amount stolen was $823,827.72.

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 11 years and has been a journalist for 22.