‘Perfect employee’ stole $173,000 from firm
Kelly Jane Mackley claims she was “something of a perfect employee” – before she stole $173,000 from the company.
Mackley spent the money stolen from Anglo Pacific International on her preoccupation with food, on-line shopping, and two trips to Australia.
But defence counsel for the 28-year-old mother-of-two, David Stringer, said she had paid some of the money to others, including a sports team as “sponsorship” which the company was not aware of.
He told Christchurch District Court Judge Alistair Garland at Mackley’s sentencing: “I hesitate to suggest it was some kind of Robin Hood syndrome.”
Mackley was in tears as Judge Garland jailed her for two years four months, and ordered her to pay reparations of $30,000 towards the $168,000 that remains outstanding. He ordered to repay it at $50 a week after her release from prison. She has saved $972 to pay immediately.
Outside court, Anglo Pacific International managing director John Williamson said the offending had been “so disappointing” by an employee among a staff of 15. He doubted it would be worthwhile taking up the judge’s suggestion that the company could take civil action against Mackley if it wanted to recover more of the money.
Mr Williamson told the court the offending last year had had a huge financial impact on the business, its cash flow, and profitability. Bonuses to other staff had not been able to be paid.
He and the police said they had seen no sign of remorse by Mackley. She was still driving around in a car for which the deposit had been paid with a company cheque, though Mackley claims it has now broken down.
Mr Williamson alleged she asked a travel agent to say nothing about a trip she had organised with friends to Auckland, or to help recover what she had spent. Mackley denied that.
Mr Stringer said Mackley had taken six weeks off work for illness but had then worked overtime to make up for the time she had been paid for. “She claims she had been something of a perfect employee until she began offending.”
That began in January last year, after she had been employed for years as an export sea freight clerk and assisting in the accounts department. She wrote out 86 company cheques over an 11-month period.
Mr Stringer said her offending had “given her a high akin to an addiction”.
Judge Garland replied: “No doubt she got a high from the offending, and a considerable benefit from spending so much of someone else’s money. She knew what she was doing was wrong.”
He asked Mr Stringer for details of who funds had been passed on to, and was told of the uniforms purchased for a sports team. Otherwise, the money was “gone and unrecoverable”.
Judge Garland noted that Mackley was a first offender, but said a psychiatric report prepared for sentencing showed she had been properly medicated for mental health issues at the time of the offending. Her stealing began when she was behind with her rent and continued because it was “just too easy”. She had used the money to support her lifestyle.
The effect on her employer had been huge, he said. The company had seen no evidence of her claim that she was extremely remorseful.
Mackley had pleaded guilty in January to one representative charge of theft by a person in a special relationship, which covered all the offending. She had been on bail pending sentencing.
Category: Focus
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Connect
Connect with us via: