Woman stole $15,000 from deaf uncle and spent it in pubs, hotels and casino

Serena Adamson stole $15,000 from an uncle who trusted her to organise a bank loan for him.

A woman swindled $15,000 from her deaf uncle and blew the cash gambling at pubs, hotels and a casino.

Serena Jayne Adamson's uncle asked her for help in letting his Christchurch home when he decided to move to Australia in 2012.

He gave Adamson, 35, access and authority to his bank account, according to a new court judgment released last week.

The uncle, who had impaired hearing, wanted a bank loan so he could buy a car once he arrived in Australia and asked Adamson for help.

Adamson - who in 2006 was convicted for bashing a woman unconscious with a bottle of pre-mixed drink in the toilet at an Oxford Terrace bar in Christchurch - told him that the bank had declined the loan.

But in reality, the bank agreed to a $15,000 loan and credited his bank account with the money.

Christchurch District Court heard that Adamson then siphoned almost all of the money - $14,600 - into her own accounts.

Over the following weeks, Adamson made regular cash withdrawals at local taverns, hotels, and at Christchurch Casino without her uncle knowing.

Adamson was charged with intent to obtain a pecuniary advantage, dishonestly and without a claim of right used a document, namely a bank loan document, on or about October 18, 2012.

After a trial before Judge David Saunders, she was found guilty and convicted of the fraud.

She was sentenced to nine months of home detention and ordered to repay the money at a minimum of $50 per week.

Adamson appealed against her conviction, arguing a miscarriage of justice after the trial judge misdirected the jury over allegations of dishonesty.

But in a new ruling, the Court of Appeal rejected her claims and dismissed the appeal.

While the appeal judges agreed that Judge Saunders made an error in his direction on claim of right, they were satisfied that it had made no difference to the jury's final decision.

"We are satisfied that the misdirection did not result in a miscarriage of justice," the Court of Appeal said in dismissing the appeal.

Adamson, who was an estate agent at the time of the offending, "did not continue in real estate", her former employers Ray White Real Estate New Zealand said when approached this week.

"The matter was dealt with appropriately at the time [five years ago]," said Graeme Fraser, Ray White's head of agency operations for New Zealand.

The Real Estate Agents Authority (REAA) confirmed that Adamson's real estate licence expired in 2014.

Adamson could not be reached for comment.