Rotorua crime victims owed $1.8 million in reparation

A Rotorua couple say they are owed nearly $148,000 reparation by a woman sentenced in the Rotorua District Court nearly a decade ago. Photo / 123rf

A couple, whose former employee stole more than $300,000 from their business, are sick of being repaid what they believe are “chump change” amounts by the offender.

The long-standing Rotorua business owners. who the Rotorua Daily Post will not name for legal reasons, are among the Rotorua crime victims owed a total of $1.8 million in reparation, according to figures released under the Official Information Act.

The former employee was ordered by the Rotorua District Court to pay the couple $150,000 in reparation almost a decade ago.

The couple said there were significant gaps in payments by the offender and their bank records showed as of February 3, they had only been paid $2,456.98.

In their opinion: “It’s an absolute joke. We are just sick of being paid chump change by this woman who [in our view] is thumbing her nose at the court order and us.”

The offender, who undertook accounts and payroll duties in the victims’ business, paid herself extra wages, made multiple illegal withdrawals from the company’s bank account and paid tens of thousands of dollars into her and a relative’s bank accounts.

The couple said the offender received a prison sentence of more than two years which was “cold comfort” as her dishonesty resulted in the IRD liquidating the company. Her actions have had “a devastating toll” on them financially and emotionally, ”even today”, they said.

One of the victims said they attempted to pursue enforcement actions against the offender three or four years ago; however, it proved to be a “difficult and time-consuming process”.

The couple said they wanted to see more done by the courts to chase offenders who pay small amounts or ignore their reparation orders completely.

“We have waited long enough. It’s very frustrating, unless the court takes stern enforcement actions, we don’t believe we’ll ever see the rest of our stolen money back in our lifetimes.”

The Rotorua District Court was approached for a response about repayments and enforcement actions in respect to the Rotorua couple.

Offenders sentenced in the Rotorua District Court owe $1.8m in reparation and another $2.7m in fines. Photo / Andrew Warner

The data

Rotorua offenders owe nearly $4.6m in unpaid fines and reparation.

Rotorua District Court judges imposed just over $1m in fines and $455,496 in reparation in the 2023/2024 financial year.

In that same period, $112,377 in fines imposed in the same court were remitted.

In the previous financial year, $1.05m in fines and $524,198 in reparation were imposed.

A total of $2.79m in fines was yet to be paid as of June 30 last year – $1.2m of that overdue. Of the $1.8m reparation still unpaid, $646,193 was overdue.

The Ministry of Justice said the highest amount of outstanding reparation owed by a single offender sentenced in the Rotorua District Court was $154,460 as of June 30, 2024 – the reparation order dates back more than 18 years.

Nationally, $168.8 million in court-imposed fines was outstanding and another $111.7m reparation was owed in reparation to victims as of June 30, 2024, with $9.7m in fines remitted during the same financial period.

The single-highest outstanding reparation nationally owed by a single offender in the same period was $4.88m.

Fines and reparation enforcement measures

The Ministry of Justice said collection of fines and reparation was the role of the courts, and the ministry could not access those records to confirm the offender’s reparation payment status nor comment on enforcement actions to recover outstanding payments.

However, once an offender had been ordered to pay fines or reparation, in the first instance they had 28 days to resolve the outstanding amount in full or negotiate sustainable repayment arrangements where possible, the ministry said.

“Enforcement measures that a court registrar can take to collect overdue amounts, included clamping vehicles, seizing and selling property, making compulsory deductions from the debtor’s source of income or bank account, issuing warrants for arrest and suspending drivers’ licences.”

The debtor’s ability to travel overseas could also be prevented, the ministry said.

Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.