TradeMe cheat vows to repay

A woman accused of scamming more than $10,000 from Trade Me online shoppers says she will repay her victims.

Katrina Rose Briggs has been charged with 28 counts of accessing the Trade Me online auction site and obtaining by deception a pecuniary advantage of $10,366.45.

She listed 26 items for sale between January 2007 and March last year. People paid for the items, including electronics and children's goods, but she allegedly never sent the items to the highest bidder.

Briggs, 32, of Mangere, told the Herald on Sunday she regretted her actions, which occurred during a "tough time" but said she had done it to feed her young children.

Briggs has four children, the eldest of whom is six. Another son, Jordan, was murdered in 2000 by her former partner, Landles Ropiha.

Ropiha, then aged 17, received a mandatory life sentence for throwing the 11-month-old against a hard surface causing massive skull fractures and brain damage.

This week, Briggs said the items she purported to sell were "mainly iPods" and she spent most of the money feeding her four children.

"There is no excuse for why I did it," she admitted. "I shouldn't have done it.

"It's hard. I have four kids - the oldest is 6. I have a partner who hasn't worked in a long time."

She was looking for a job and intended to repay all the money. "I was going through a hard time," she added.

Briggs has not entered a plea. She has been remanded on bail to reappear in the Manukau District Court on April 20.

Trade Me spokesman Paul Ford said the Trade Me investigations team had notified police after uncovering the offending.

He said the items listed and paid for by buyers but not delivered included computer software, children's toys and clothing, iPods and a PlayStation 3 console.

The highest value item was a Canon camera, which was sold for $3612.95.

"There was a steady escalation in her offending, in volume and value," Ford said. "Initially it was children's clothing and toys, and it later moved into high-value electronic goods."

Briggs also allegedly used family members' accounts and details.

"This shows the importance of not letting other people access your account and passwords," Ford said.

"We hope she gets a tough sentence, and that the judge sends a strong signal ... to demonstrate online crime will not be tolerated, especially as New Zealanders are shifting more and more of their lives online.

"Trade Me is a dumb place to do dodgy stuff. You will get caught because deep electronic footprints are inevitably left behind."

He said Trade Me had 12 confirmed non-delivery complaints every week from more than 250,000 items sold.

Trade Me had participated in 18 successful prosecutions in the first three months of this year. Last year it was involved in 55, Ford said.