Businesswoman jailed for fraud

Michelle Campbell leaves Tauranga District Court after pleading guilty to fraud charges in May. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

The former wife of a police officer was today jailed for four years for defrauding her Tauranga employer of more than $1.3m.

Michelle Campbell's offending was described as a "huge web of deceit" by Judge Thomas Ingram in Tauranga District Court.

The 43-year-old mother defrauded car dealers Ebbett Tauranga Holden, where she worked as the business manager, over a three-and-a-half year period from September 2006.

Judge Ingram said it was one of the worst cases of its kind in New Zealand.

"This was not just about money. It involves a sense of betrayal and that sense of betrayal is unlikely to evaporate for a number of years," he said.

Campbell was convicted of 60 charges of using a document for pecuniary interest, five charges of theft over $1000 and two charges of theft under $1000.

Campbell became emotional just before Judge Ingram started sentencing.

He told her that imprisonment was inevitable and the impact on her former employer was substantial.

"You were the author of a large scale fraud involving a large scale firm."

The Crown told the court that Ebbett Tauranga Holden had spent $150,000 trying to recover the stolen money.

Judge Ingram conceded it was unlikely the company would ever recover the $1.3 million stolen by Campbell.

Defence lawyer David Bates said his client could pay back about $95,000 to her former employer.

He told the court $50,000 of that was from the sale of the house she previously lived in and a motorbike and vehicle, which was used by her former husband and Tauranga police officer Steve Campbell.

Judge Ingram told Campbell he could see no reason for her offending other than to purchase "lifestyle assets".

"The use of that money has not been clearly established and the only realistic option is that it was spent on lifestyle."

He looked over Campbell's psychology report but said: "It provides no answers to how you got yourself in this situation".

- NZPA