Fraudster’s pregnancy plea dismissed
A plea that jail time would threaten the life of a convicted fraudster and her unborn child has fallen on deaf ears.
On Friday, Virginia Rose James was jailed for two years and nine months after she stole $705,000 from her former employer, the Taranaki based energy infrastructure company Powerco.
The 33-year-old mother of three was arrested and charged with two counts of forgery and one of obtains by deception. She pleaded guilty to the three charges in January.
Crown prosecutor Justin Marinovich said the harm caused to Powerco employees by James’ deceit had rattled the ‘‘tight unit’’ to its core. He said the offending involved a ‘‘significant breach of trust’’ and has been premeditated, motivated by James’ desire for financial gain. While Powerco was insured, it had to pay $50,000 in insurance excess.
He said James’ pregnancy was ‘‘irrelevant’’ and there was adequate provisions available behind bars to provide for her ante and post natal care. Marinovich added he hoped the pregnancy was not a cynical attempt on James’ part to try and get a lenient sentence.
This was dismissed by lawyer Paul Keegan who said it was ‘‘unfair’’ to speculate James’ pregnancy was a deliberate ploy to avoid jail time. He stressed how ‘‘high risk’’ the pregnancy was and medical reports from her GP and obstetrician supported this.
The documents outlined that the defendant needed to be within half an hour of a surgical team because of the risk of medical complications when she went into labour. He appealed to Judge Chris Sygrove to impose a ‘‘merciful and humanitarian’’ sentence on James.
‘‘These are the facts and we can’t get around them and in my submission the court will be risking her life and the life of her unborn child if it imprisons her,’’ Keegan said.
Keegan said the mitigating factors in the case had been ‘‘downplayed’’ by the Crown and James’ deserved credit for her guilty pleas, her remorse, her lack of previous convictions and the cooperation she provided police during the investigation. He said James and her family were also able to pay up to $70,000 in reparation immediately.
Judge Sygrove said a traumatic birth of a child had caused James’ life to spiral out of control, resulting in a gambling addiction. He said she was spending up to $800 a day on pokie machines and the offending began as a means to fuel this addiction. However, it was revealed James also used the stolen money to buy a boat, a car, a new kitchen as well as finance an overseas trip and pay back other loans.
The judge dismissed Keegan’s plea for leniency and said James’ pregnancy was her responsibility alone to manage. He was satisfied there were adequate supports in place in prison to assist the defendant and hospital facilities were close to the unit if required. A reparation order for the insurance excess, plus GST, was imposed by Judge Sygrove for $57,500, along with a further $12,500 payment to reflect the emotional harm caused to Powerco employees.
James previously pleaded not guilty to a charge of using a document and will reappear in court for case review on June 20.