Samantha Ashlie Jo-Anne Matiaha, 23, admitted two counts of breaching community work.
Samantha Ashlie Jo-Anne Matiaha, 23, admitted two counts of breaching community work.
Rubbing shoulders with other criminals and childcare responsibilities made it far too difficult for benefit fraudster Samantha Ashlie Jo-Anne Matiaha to do her community work sentence, a court has heard.
The 23-year-old mother of three pleaded guilty to two counts of breach of community work when she appeared before JudgePeter Hobbs in Masterton District Court last week.
In April last year, Matiaha was sentenced to 300 hours' community work after pleading guilty to eight charges of benefit fraud involving $40,452. She had ripped off the taxpayer over a two-year period by collecting a sole-parent benefit while living with a man.
During sentencing last year, Judge Hobbs told Matiaha her actions cast stigma over beneficiaries who were entitled to their payments. She has only completed 78 hours' community work in total.
Defence lawyer Ian Hard said his client found it difficult "mixing" with some of the other people on community work and was finding it hard to complete her sentence with three young children to care for.
Judge Hobbs said he was concerned about the amount of money involved and adjourned the case so he could re-read her file notes. Recalling the case later, he cancelled the community work sentence and convicted Matiaha on the two breaches, sentencing her to three months' community detention with a curfew from 7am-7pm.
