An apology to Waitara

Convicted travel agent fraudster Nadene Chapman has written a letter to the people of Waitara saying she was ‘‘truly sorry’’ for the pain she caused.

In her letter, published in the North Taranaki Midweek yesterday, Chapman said she realised the ripple effects of her actions had impacted on many people.

‘‘My actions are unforgivable and have caused mistrust in a community of very trustworthy people.

‘‘I ask that you don’t punish other Waitara businesses because of your experiences with me,’’ she wrote. Chapman was a director of Waitara Travel that went into liquidation at the end of June 2016 leaving its customers in the dark about where their money had gone and why their holidays had not been booked.

In May she was in court facing five charges of using a document to gain pecuniary advantage and one of theft by a person in a special relationship. Chapman is yet to be sentenced.

In her letter she wrote that for years many people had trusted her with their hard earned savings to create their travel and long lasting memories, instead she had turned them into ‘‘disaster stories’’.

She had met with many of the ‘‘victims of my actions’’ at Restorative Justice Conferences and it had made real for her the human impact of her offence, she wrote.

She also expressed gratitude to the House of Travel New Plymouth for ensuring that many of her former clients were still able to enjoy the holidays she ‘‘had destroyed’’.

Chapman ended the letter by inviting anyone who has been affected to contact her by email.