Julie Elisabeth Morton, 62, was granted early release after she appeared in front of the Parole Board yesterday.
It was her second bid for freedom since she was jailed for three years, two months in October 2024.
Morton was locked up after admitting six charges of theft in a special relationship which represented hundreds of unlawful transactions over years.
The defendant had enduring power of attorney over her mother’s assets after she lost capacity to manage them in 2015 and Morton stole $965,310 of her mother’s money between January 5, 2015 and March 28, 2018.
The money was used for jewellery, clothing, landscaping and $12,222 was spent on Amazon purchases.
Yesterday, when asked why she did the crime, Morton said she had resented her mother, who died in 2018.
"[It was] almost like ‘How can I burn down her legacy?’."
The defendant’s brother, John Morton, lost a chunk of his inheritance because of his sister’s crime and said yesterday while he had expected the parole board’s decision, she remained a "huge risk" to the community.
"I don’t think she’s changed. I think anybody who employs her should be extremely cautious about what sort of responsibilities she has and what she has access to," Mr Morton said.
In his submission to the board, he said his sister had not changed and would "do this sort of thing again".
It was "laughable" to suggest Morton was remorseful and she had not apologised or paid any money back, he said.
"When she sees an opportunity, she takes it — she has no conscience and no ethics."
He felt New Zealand’s light sentences would encourage reoffending and said he was disappointed by a lack of communication about the parole process.
"I mean, it still crosses our mind quite a lot ... but certainly we’re moving on with our lives and getting on with things."
At the parole hearing yesterday, Morton said she knew what she was doing was wrong, but got caught up in a cycle because spending the money gave her a sense of "relief".
"Soon after that you feel disgusting, and self-loathing, so then you do some more," she said.
She offended out of resentment rather than revenge, she said.
Morton argued she could be released on parole with conditions, and admitted she should not have control of anyone else’s money while in the community.
The defendant had been locked up in 1997 for swindling her employer out of more than $200,000. But yesterday, she told the board she was able to resist the urge to steal, and had done so during her 20 years of employment with the Public Service Association.
"There is always opportunity for fraudulent behaviour if you’re in a job where you’re extended a level of trust," she said.
She explained during her time in prison she had been living in self care, completed a short rehabilitation course and had been working outside the wire.
Morton was approved for the release to work programme, but she broke her wrist after a fall which meant she could not partake.
The defendant’s lawyer said she had been a "model prisoner" and was remorseful for her offending "despite what her brother says".
A Corrections officer said Morton had been a good role model for younger prisoners during her time behind bars.
After a brief deliberation period, the panel granted Morton parole.
They agreed she was "no longer an undue risk to the community" and she would be released on January 27.
