A 40-year-old Dunedin banking consultant has admitted creating and paying back about $2 million of unauthorised loans in the names of business customers over the past three years and skimming $376,000 off the top for herself.
Mother-of-two Emma Joanna O'Dowda pleaded guilty to 11 counts of theft by a person in a special relationship when she appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday.
She was ordered to surrender her passport and bailed until sentencing on February 19.
O'Dowda told police she had spent the money on her lifestyle, payments for doctor's visits and prescription medication to which she had become addicted.
The police statement of facts said that on 11 occasions O'Dowda, who worked as a consultant with the National Bank's business banking centre in Moray Pl, created unauthorised loans.
The first was a home loan of $14,000 in her own name in August 2006.
She repaid the loan by drawing down a second loan for herself in October 2006, this time for $50,000.
She paid back the $14,000 and transferred $36,000 into a joint account held at another bank.
In September 2007, she created a new loan of $95,000 on a business banking customer's account, drew the money down and placed it in her own joint account, paying back the unsuspecting customer's loan at the same time.
Between October 2007 and April 2009, she illegally created, drew down and repaid loans and one overdraft a further eight times, each time keeping an amount for herself.
The biggest loans she created were for $400,000.
The loans were created on several customers' accounts.
She told police she chose the first customer because she knew the person would not check the accounts.
Two signatures were required for the loan agreement, which she completed herself.
In at least one later case, she disabled the customer's internet banking and had statements from accounts redirected to her workplace, to prevent the customer finding out.
The offending came to light in April this year when another bank employee noticed the lending discrepancies.
Police are seeking reparation of $376,000, payable to the National Bank of New Zealand.
