Kiwi fugitive Simone Wright sentenced to one year and five months in prison for Trade Me frauds

Simone Wright and her ex-husband Paul Bennett.
Simone Wright and her ex-husband Paul Bennett. Photo credit: File

A Kiwi fugitive who created a dying child con and duped Trade Me buyers into purchasing thousands of dollars worth of items has been sentenced to one year and five months in prison.

Simone Anne Wright in August denied making up stories of a terminally ill son receiving care at Auckland's Starship Hospital to sell a spa bath, motorbikes, and other items on Trade Me. However, she was found guilty on seven charges of obtaining by deception and conning buyers out of $35,000 in August. She had partnered with her ex-husband, Paul Bennett, to do this.

At the Christchurch District Court on Thursday, Judge Paul Kellar said the offending was "brazen", "callous", and "cynical".

He said Trade Me accounts were opened in Wright's name on May 22 and 24, 2008, an ANZ account was opened by her on May 23, and a BNZ account was opened on June 4.

"Most of the frauds involved a somewhat cruel lie that the transactions were to obtain funds to pay for cancer treatment for a son or other relative that naturally induced sympathy in the prospective purchases," he said.

The victims' individual deposits were several thousand dollars each, he added.

Judge Kellar said in one case in June 2008, the victims, who were from a one-wage family, purchased a motorbike for their disabled son and were "shocked" and "disappointed" when it never arrived.

Another victim sought to purchase a spa with money from her mother's recent death. The money meant a lot to her and her family, and they have since become distrusting of others due to the "profound effect" the con had on them.

The Crown said the victim impact statements demonstrated the significant impact, both emotionally and financially, it had taken on them, and the amount of money involved is an aggravating factor.

The Defence said Wright's ex-husband Bennett shouldn't be ignored, since he "was a mastermind" in this situation. They said the life Wright had before she was with Bennett was "quickly taken away" once they met - "largely for Mr Bennett's benefit".

The Defence said reparation may not be a realistic prospect, but said some money could be made available from the sale of items which were taken from the yacht, including some tech equipment, a guitar, and other items.

Wright also had a discussion with police about selling a property so money could be made available to victims, but the Defence said this was stopped by Bennett who "disputes the ownership of that property".

Judge Kellar said he started Wright's sentence at one year and eight months in prison, but since Wright doesn't have previous convictions, he said the law requires him to make allowances that she's a person of otherwise good character.

"It is obvious that until you met Mr Bennett, you had a good life on whatever view one takes of it. Mr Bennett created an environment in which this offending occurred," he said.

But after taking into account her good character and the level of involvement she had, he reduced her sentence by three months to one year and five months.

Wright wasn't given a reparation order since she has "no means to pay it".