Farmers store employee defrauds company

A Farmers employee who found a way to defraud the company will be sentenced in October.

Corey James Hagger worked for the Farmers store chain for about 11 months, and found a way to print duplicate receipts, police prosecutor Sergeant Rachel Willemsen said in the Whanganui District Court on Tuesday.

Hagger would use the duplicate receipts to refund an item onto a gift card, which he would then use, she said.

The offending happened between May 3-17.

He caused a loss of $1916.50, though some of that has been recovered, leaving $420.75 outstanding.

Hagger told police he had used the gift cards online or in other stores, and tried to sell the cards on Facebook.

He pleaded guilty in court to theft by a person in a special relationship.

Defence lawyer Harete Hipango said Hagger used the gift card once before selling it on to someone else.

He resigned from his job when he was discovered, she said.

Judge David Cameron remanded the matter to October 4 for sentencing and referred it to Restorative Justice.