The judge also suppressed the name of the pilfered charity, where the defendant had been employed, because doing so might lead to the identification of the defendant.
The defendant and his co-defendant, a 51-year-old woman who also worked with the charity, were both in trusted roles when they were accused of stealing $42,712 worth of cash and goods between February and September 2022.
The duo provided fake invoices to the head of the charity, which was tasked with providing items such as school uniforms, laptops, stationery and mobile phones to students struggling in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The funds were intended to assist vulnerable members of society,” police prosecutor Darcel Andrews told the judge as she argued against a discharge without conviction and permanent suppression.
“This trust was abused with the intention to support the defendant’s greed and lifestyle.”
Court documents show the pair repeatedly fabricated reports of people needing assistance, accompanied by the false invoices.
“Once the invoices were approved, the funds were credited to the defendants’ families bank accounts,” according to the agreed summary of facts for the case.
The younger defendant also arranged to have two phones and two laptops delivered to his home, although he continues to dispute that he kept those items, claiming he passed them on to people in need even though court documents state they were obtained through fake invoices.
Of the missing $42,712, the charity was able to get back $30,125 through an insurance claim and nearly $7000 in withheld wages.
The organisation remained $5616 out of pocket, but there were other expenses too, Judge Sharp noted, explaining that the insurance premium will now likely rise and there was a waste of resources as four employees spent 164 hours investigating the incident.
More than 20 families missed out on assistance due to the wrongdoing, he also noted.
The younger defendant confessed to $10,000 worth of thefts when confronted by his employer.
Defence lawyer Matthew Timmins submitted letters of support for his client from members of his church, former educators and people he had been involved with through politics.
Although previously a candidate, he was not elected to office.
“Clearly, he’s remorseful,” Timmins said, to which the judge readily agreed.
“I would be surprised if [he] is engaged in dishonest conduct again,” Judge Sharp said.
The judge said there is a need to denounce people abusing their positions of trust and that deterrence is also important, especially in cases involving white-collar crime.
But he also needed to give the defendant credit for his early guilty plea, his apology and 160 hours of volunteer work he has done of his own accord before sentencing.
He acknowledged there will be a stigma that accompanies the conviction, and most likely a barrier to future job opportunities. It’s a burden he should bear, but identifying him by name would result in extreme hardship and wouldn’t be in the public interest, the judge concluded.
The other defendant is set to be sentenced later this year.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
