Woman jailed for $1 million theft from employer

By Anne Clarkson at the Rangiora Court House

A woman stood crying in the dock throughout her sentencing for a $1 million theft from her employer.

Maria Anne Kahu stole the money to feed her gambling addiction, the Christchurch District Court was told at her sentencing in the Rangiora Court House today.

Kahu, 41, made 272 unauthorised transactions over six years and took $1.03 million before resigning to move to Australia.

Defence counsel Elizabeth Bulger said it was an ultimate breach of trust between employer and employee, but Kahu was remorseful and had written a letter of apology to the company.

She had taken steps to deal with her gambling addiction, but all the money had gone into machines and to fund a lifestyle she could not have lived otherwise.

There was no accumulation of significant assets that could be sold to pay the company back, but her house was on the market and she could pay some reparation out of that, Miss Bulger said.

Judge Colin Doherty said it was a spectacular fall from grace and Kahu was facing sentencing on five representative charges.

The victim impact report from the operations manager of the company said Kahu’s actions had an effect on the other employees. The company was not doing well and they were fronting up to their employees to ask them to cut costs and get the company through the tough times at the same time Kahu was taking the money out of their account.

Judge Doherty said the money wasn’t taken for need but for greed. Kahu enjoyed living the high life and admitted she was materialistic.

He said the offending was premeditated in that Kahu had calculated each one of the transactions. He said it must have had a degree of sophistication for her not to be found out earlier.

He sentenced Kahu to prison for three years nine months and ordered a reparation payment of $50,000 to be made after the sale of her property. He said the company could take civil action if it wished, to try to recover more of the money.