A Rotorua woman who stole $157,000 from Te Puia, the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, has agreed for proceeds of the sale of her house be used to pay some of the money back, Rotorua District Court has been told.
Waikare Bernadette Te Moana, 55, appeared in court today after previously pleading guilty to two charges of theft.
Judge James Weir sentenced her to nine months' home detention.
The court was told that as a ticket seller, Te Moana would sell tickets, not put the money in the till and cancel out the sale, keeping the money.
Knowing there were video cameras above each ticket booth, she hid her actions by placing a magazine over that what she was doing. She stole money on 77 occasions over two and a half years.
