Northland woman Toddy Shepherd has sentence for charity theft reduced after appeal to High Court

Toddy Shepherd has had her three-year jail sentence slashed by six months upon appeal to the High Court. Photo / Supplied Photo/Supplied

The High Court has slashed six months off the jail term of a Northlander who stole more than $100,000 from a national disability support charity.

Toddy Shepherd was employed by CCS Disability Action in Hawke's Bay in 2012, and as regional manager for the Central North Island obtained a credit card, which she claimed had been authorised by her chief executive.

She had used the card "freely" for three years, including paying for a rental car while she was on holiday, to send flowers to her daughter, and on a personal trip to Australia with her husband.

Her offending predates her appointment as academy director for the Sweet As trade training course run by Kaitaia's He Korowai Trust.

Shepherd was found guilty after a judge-alone trial in the Kaitaia District Court in June last year on six charges of theft by a person in a special relationship and one of obtaining by deception.

She was jailed for three years and ordered to pay reparation of $111,577.67, with an immediate payment of $3400, which she had offered prior to sentencing.

The court rejected her claims that her offending had been motivated by tikanga Māori and a desire to care for others.

She appealed against her sentence and conviction.

Her lawyer Rob Samuels successfully argued there was no evidence Shepherd engaged in deception by advising the bank that her chief executive had given her approval to apply for a credit card.

Justice Matthew Muir said the evidence established the card could have been legitimately issued without Shepherd's CEO's approval.

He quashed the conviction on the charge of obtaining by deception.

Samuels also advanced on appeal what he called a "fall back position" in that there was a miscarriage of justice by Shepherd not having had the opportunity to be tried by a jury.

He said credibility assessments may have been different if a jury trial was held.

The judge rejected that ground of appeal.

As an example, Justice Muir said when several specific irregularities were drawn to Shepherd's attention immediately before her resignation, she neither suggested the transactions were authorised nor gave an innocent explanation.

The other ground of appeal Samuels advanced was that the reparation order was "manifestly excessive" having regard to Shepherd's uncertain future on release from jail and the prospect she would even be on a benefit.

Justice Muir said if Shepherd's circumstances change upon release from prison such as her inability to secure employment, she could apply for cancellation of the reparation order.