After several years working at an upmarket restaurant in Dunedin, an up-and-coming manager started putting his hand in the till.
Within 20 months he had got away with more than $11,000.
Andrew Huriwai Stewart (27) began as a waiter and barman at No 7 Balmac in Maori Hill but soon engendered the trust of his bosses and became responsible for opening and closing, as well as cashing up at the end of the night.
‘‘They had absolute faith and trust in you,’’ Judge Kevin Phillips said in the Dunedin District Court.
In 2015, Stewart’s deception began.
When he was the only one in the restaurant at the end of the night, the defendant would log into the till and issue fictitious refunds. He would pocket the cash.
Not only did Stewart use his own log-in to access the till but also those of other staff in an attempt to mask his thieving.
Through 2015, he stole a total of $3192 over 33 occasions.
With the restaurant owners in the dark, the theft escalated the following year.
‘‘I think you considered you would not be caught and you upped the taking,’’ Judge Phillips said.
Up to September that year, Stewart illegally accessed the till 76 times, pocketing
$8454 before suspicions were raised.
When management viewed CCTV they saw Stewart take cash from the till, and at a meeting he admitted his actions.
Stewart later told police he had spent the money on rent, petrol and dog food.
A charge of theft by a person in a special relationship was laid, to which the defendant initially pleaded not guilty.
‘‘It indicated a lack of remorse, really,’’ Judge Phillips said.
After disputing the amount stolen and claiming it happened on only 10 occasions, Stewart later admitted the charge.
Counsel Joe O’Neill said his client appreciated the distress he had caused and had since repaid the $11,646 he stole. Stewart had raised $1500 by selling personal items, and his parents had funded the balance.
Mr O’Neill said his client had recently obtained new employment in the hospitality industry but that was in jeopardy.
‘‘They don’t appear to fully appreciate the extent of [the offending],’’ he said.
Stewart was studying to be a social worker and wanted to work with young Maori, the court heard.
While a reference filed on behalf of the defendant described him as ‘‘a fine young man’’, Judge Phillips said that was in stark contrast to the victim impact statement written by the owners of No 7 Balmac, who had taken Stewart under their wing.
‘‘You became an intimate part of their family. They respected you, they loved you, they looked after you. You were important to them and they were important to you, they thought.’’
He said one of the most heinous aspects of the offending was the fact Stewart had attempted to disguise the fraud by implicating his colleagues.
‘‘They were used by you,’’ Judge Phillips said. ‘‘[The owner] just could not believe it.’’
Stewart was sentenced to three months’ community detention and 180 hours’ community work.
‘‘While there is one charge before me,’’ the judge said, ‘‘there are well in excess of 100 crimes.’’