Woman denies altering vouchers

A woman made redundant from a Taranaki cab company is defending allegations she deliberately altered taxi vouchers for financial gain.

Irene Ann Rose Jarkiewicz, 61, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges of altering a document with intent to defraud. Her judgealone trial began yesterday in the New Plymouth District Court.

Sergeant Lewis Sutton said Jarkiewicz had worked as a business administrator for Energy City Cabs in Inglewood.

As part of her role, the accused looked after its finances, collected and banked money from drivers along with processing taxi charge dockets, which act like a voucher, which are then sent for payment.

During the last months of her employment, and following news of her redundancy, Jarkiewicz set up her own cab company called Pink Rose Taxis. Energy City Cabs was the parent company of this service.

Prior to her redundancy, the accused had a full-time driver for her taxi but after she left the office job she drove the cab.

Sutton said that between April and June 2016, it is alleged Jarkiewicz altered nine taxi charge dockets by changing the vehicle number of the taxi which completed the trip to that which corresponded with her cab.

Once the taxi docket was submitted to the billing company, the driver would be paid the money owed, less a commission. The money involved in the allegations totalled $440.

However, defence lawyer Megan Boyd said it was not Jarkiewicz who altered the documents.

One witness to give evidence yesterday was Johannes Bekker, the operations manager at Energy City Cabs.

He told the court he was a taxi driver for the company for about three years before taking on the new role, where he was tasked with helping pull the company out of financial difficulty. As part of the company shake-up, Jarkiewicz was made redundant.

Under questioning by Sutton, Bekker said Jarkiewicz had been ‘‘difficult’’ to work with and often refused help from anyone regarding her office tasks, including assistance with dealing with the taxi charge dockets.

Following Jarkiewicz’s departure, a dispute arose over her leaving pay. While this was being resolved, Bekker also started his own investigation, which included looking at the handling of the taxi charge dockets.

He found Jarkiewicz’s Pink Rose Taxis number was noted as doing jobs a Energy City Cabs’ driver had done, based on information from the company’s dispatch records.

Under cross-examination by Boyd, Bekker denied he had any role in handling or altering the documents. The case continues.