Convicted $2m Te Kuiti fraudster's hidden bank account uncovered; convicted of further $425k theft

A former Te Kuiti woman jailed for stealing $2 million from her employer, had another, secret bank account hiding nearly $500,000 from her victims and police.

It wasn't until a forensic investigator was appointed by the HIgh Court to examine Sharon Margaret Bradley's bank accounts to reclaim the stolen money in civil proceedings - which ran parallel with criminal proceedings - that the third account was discovered.

And it was from that Bradley was charged by police and today in the Te Kuiti District Court she admittied six representative charges of theft by a person in a special relationship in relation totalling $425,739.03.

"The money was transferred into an account held by the defendant not known to police until the defendant was required to provide it to the forensic accountant as part of the civil proceedings," Detective Scott Middlemiss wrote in court documents.

Police then had to go to the High Court to get the accountant's evidence which was released in April this year.

The money was stolen in 14 separate transactions over a seven-year period between April 2006 and 2013.

The latest theft revelation is in addition to the $2,002,332.51 she was jailed for in January. The total figure now sits at $2,428,091.54.

Throughout court proceedings during the first nine months, Bradley put up a dogged fight to keep her name secret.

Sharon Margaret Bradley hides her face from media as she is put in the back of a prison truck at her sentencing in January. Photo / Belinda Feek

Despite losing her suppression bid at sentencing in January, she filed an appeal in the High Court which she ultimately lost in June.

Her modus operandi appears to be similar to her earlier offending - except this time she deposited the money into her ANZ Bank account.

The married mother-of-three worked for Ross M Alleman Accountant from 1991 before it amalgamated with Lionel Smith & Associates in early 2012.

She worked as an assistant accountant from 1991 to March 2018 and had access to the bank account of its client - Eight Mile Farm Ltd - to pay their bills.

Bradley would pay legitimate invoices, but then reload the invoice and transfer the same amount of money into joint accounts with husband, John.

Having the abilty to withdraw money using internet banking, Bradley began stealing.

The first representative charge relates to three withdrawals between April 13, 2006, and December 21, 2006, involving $63,320.09.

Sharon Margaret Bradley is escorted from the Te Kuiti District by Detective Scott Middlemiss after an appearance last year. Photo / Belinda Feek

After the Christmas break, she returned to work and on January 18, 2007, spent the next seven months stealing a further $165,358.25 through six different withdrawals.

After her offending was discovered in 2018, 51-year-old Bradley and her family left Te Kuiti, moving 30 minutes north to Te Awamutu.

Middlemiss said it remained unknown if the new 14 withdrawals were duplicate invoice payments or if they were completely fake and designed to try and make them appear genuine to hide what she was doing

MIddlemiss also noted that Bradley had still not made any attempt to repay any of the stolen monies.

"No reparation has ever been paid by the defendant and civil recovery action is currently underway in the High Court."

When approached about the latest batch of offending, Bradley declined to make any comment to investigators.

Bradley was convicted on the new six charges by Judge Kim Saunders and remanded in custody for sentencing in December.