The former chief executive of the Kokiri Training Centre in South Dunedin has been sentenced to 10 months' home detention after embezzling more than $114,000 from the non-profit Maori organisation.
Lynette Anne Collins-Watson (59), initially pleaded not guilty to five offences from between January 2009 and February 2015, but was convicted on two of them following a 13-day judge-alone trial last year.
Judge Phillips found her guilty of one charge of theft of $27,935 by a person in a special relationship and another of $86,496. He described her as “a calculating and deceiving woman”.
This afternoon, Collins-Watson appeared before the Dunedin District Court with a cheque for just over $70,000.
The balance of her debt - $44,134 plus another $15,000 to cover investigation costs - would be repaid at $100 a week and would have to come out of her benefit payments, defence counsel Anne Stevens said.
The offending was against the Arai Te Uru Kokiri Centre Charitable Trust, of which Collins-Watson was the chief executive.
During the trial, the court heard she claimed $86,496 remuneration she was not entitled to, disguising money being paid into her account as having been paid to Te Wananga o Aotearoa.
Judge Phillips said the outgoing had been deliberately coded in such a way to make it look like an extra contract.
He was highly critical of her reliance on certain documents at trial, which he said appeared to be “doctored” to substantiate her claims.
“It brings grave discredit to you,” Judge Phillips said.
Collins-Watson also paid herself and her daughter $27,935 wages for cleaning that did not occur.
She should have known she did not have authority to pay herself in any case, the judge said, who summed it up simply: “It was a scam”.
It was unclear exactly why Collins-Watson had committed the fraud, Judge Phillips said.
“I can only suggest to myself it was patent greed.”
Defence counsel Anne Stevens argued it was “ignorance” rather than a premeditated scheme to swindle cash.
Collins-Watson had been promoted to manager with no formal training, she said.
“The structure of the organisation was very weak. It was full of holes,” Mrs Stevens said.
She also stressed the high quality of work that Collins-Watson did, which she said was not disputed by staff or clients.
“She was putting her heart and soul into the work. It was a matter of great pride to her . . . to provide education to disadvantaged youth.”
But Judge Phillips said that made the fact she decided to “rip off” the organisation even worse.
He said the fraud was reasonably sophisticated and there had been a major impact on the victim.
The ramifications of the offending on her client were “almost permanent”, Mrs Stevens told the court.
“It's virtually impossible to find employment with that mark of dishonesty."
The defendant and her husband had emptied their Kiwisaver accounts to make the reparation payment and had lost all future financial security because of it.
Collins-Watson will serve her home-detention term at a rented South Dunedin house.
- By Rob Kidd
