Long road to $10,000 reparation

A woman who stole nearly $10,000 from her employer through a refunds scam is going to be paying back the money she stole at $10 a week.

At that rate, it wil take Donna Tricia Stevens more than 17 years to pay back Repco Feilding.

The 34-year-old beneficiary was sentenced in the Palmerston North District Court on Tuesday to 120 hours’ community work and 12 months’ intensive supervision for causing the loss by deception.

While working for Repco Feilding as a retail assistant, between April and November 2016, she would sell items, but keep the customers’ receipts. She would wait a day or two, then use those receipts to refund the goods, which had not ben returned. She did 82 false refunds, ranging from $1.69 or $481, totalling $9731.42. She told police what she had done, saying she was having mone trouble.

Defence lawyer Penelope Walker said Stevens was unable to do community or home detention as the signal was not strong enough where she lived in Tangimoana. She wanted to pay back the money, but any offer had to be realistic, as she was on a benefit and caring for her three children on her own.

Judge Gerard Lynch said Stevens’ offending was a breach of trust. ‘‘Employers in the retail sector have to rely on other staff to handle money and, in this case, refunds.’’

A probation report found Stevens had a medium risk of reoffending due to her three previous theft convictions, but also found she was committed to dealing with what made her offend.

The report said Stevens was remorseful, although some of that could be due to the pickle she found herself in. The judge said he was happy to accept Stevens’ remorse as genuine.