'Naughty' bank teller stole over $380,000

A Christchurch bank teller who admitted being "a bit naughty" with the cash she handled was found to have embezzled more than $380,000.

Laura Jean Kidd, 43, had built up a reputation for accuracy and honesty that led her managers at Westpac to trust her to refill her branch's ATM machine without supervision.

However during her seven years at the bank's Woolston and then Ferrymead branches, she pilfered large sums of cash which she spent in part on poker machines and overseas travel.

In Christchurch District Court yesterday Kidd was told she faced a jail term after pleading guilty to a representative charge of theft.

Judge Louis Bidois remanded Kidd for sentence and called for reparation and pre-sentence reports. He granted bail on condition that she surrender her passport and did not leave New Zealand.

"The fact that I'm giving you bail isn't an indication of a community-based sentence," he said. "For this amount of money, the starting point is jail."

According to the police summary, Kidd joined Westpac in April 1997 and quickly gained a reputation for accuracy.

"She was a well-regarded and respected member of the branch. She was highly trusted by workmates and management alike to the extent that she was afforded a great deal of autonomy in her role," the summary states.

"She was assigned the duties of head teller, which included responsibility for loading the cash canisters for the ATM, bulk branch cash, and her own personal teller cash."

Kidd's dealings were supposed to have been subjected to scrutiny by another staff member and periodically audited by branch management.

"During the period Kidd was employed, this did not occur, presenting her with the opportunity to remove cash and cover up her actions by falsifying records.

"In February the branch manager became suspicious and conducted an after-hours spot cash count on the ATM, bulk cash account, and Kidd's teller's cash and serious anomalies were discovered.

"When she was spoken to, she replied she had been a 'bit naughty' then immediately confessed to stealing large amounts of money from the bank over a long period of time."

Kidd admitted full responsibility and said she spent the money on pokies, overseas trips, and financing her lifestyle. None of the stolen money was recovered.

- NZPA