Ex MediaWorks staffer Rebecca Maree Boyce jailed for fraud

A former MediaWorks staffer who misused company credit cards and created fictitious invoices to the tune of more than $450,000 has been sent to prison for three years. File photo

A former MediaWorks staffer who misused company credit cards and created fictitious invoices to the tune of more than $450,000 has been sent to prison for three years.

Rebecca Maree Boyce, 28, of Onehunga, appeared in the Auckland District Court this afternoon to be sentenced on 25 charges covering just over two years of her employment with the media company from 2013.

When Judge Heemi Taumanu sentenced Boyce to three years in prison, she wept quietly in the dock as her family cried in the back of the courtroom.

The bulk of stolen cash came from dishonestly using 69 invoices from another company, which netted her $233,967 from the end of 2013 to mid-2015.

During that time she also used 34 invoices from a different entity which scored her $122,302.

Her charges included five counts of forgery, five of using a false document and 15 of dishonestly using a document.

According to court documents, the woman used the money to splurge on concert tickets, high-end designer clothing and general household items.

Judge Taumanu said Boyce ran eight "distinct" schemes over the period of her offending which involved sophisticated invoicing arrangements.

One of the schemes involved putting her bank details in the place of another company's and invoicing MediaWorks.

"You were in a position of trust," Judge Taumanu said.

Initially, the motivation for Boyce's offending was said to be motivated by a desire to fund her lifestyle but following a number of reports, the judge said there were "clearly other mental health issues" which contributed.

Judge Taumanu gave her a six-month discount from a starting sentence of 4.5 years as well as a guilty plea which saved what would have been a lengthy process of the Crown proving all 25 charges.

He sentenced Boyce to three years' in prison.