An accounts clerk who defrauded Auckland International Airport of $1.8 million over the 18 years she worked there has been sentenced to three years and two months in prison.
Teremoana Kimiangatau, 54, was sentenced on Wednesday at the Manukau District Court.
In July she pleaded guilty to three charges laid by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of obtaining by deception.
Kimiangatau transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars from the airport's bank account into her own.
She was able to obtain the funds by altering the bank account numbers of clients to match hers through her use of the airport's accounting system.
Auckland International Airport dismissed Kimiangatau and reported the matter to the SFO in February this year.
Kimiangatau's lawyer said she took the money due to the financial pressure her family was under.
"You were wanting to be in a position whereby you were back in your own home and you were able to sue the money to fund your own lifestyle," Judge John Bergseng said at her sentencing.
He gave her sentencing discounts for her guilty plea, remorse and previous good character, reducing her sentence from a starting point of six years in prison.
SFO director Julie Read said checks and balances need to be in place in order to detect fraud.
"Most importantly, those checks need to be taken seriously as opposed to treating them as nothing more than a box-ticking exercise," she said.
"Kimiangatau's responsibilities allowed her to pass invoices for authorisation many times and make changes to client information without being challenged."
Newshub.
