A woman who stole close to $80,000 from small businesses over a seven-year period took advantage of the owners in times of turmoil, a court had heard.
Melanie Tyrelle Anderson (49) had her back to her victims as they read their impact statements in the Invercargill District Court yesterday.
The defendant pleaded guilty to five charges of theft in a special relationship between May 2012 and November 2020.
Ms O’Sullivan developed health issues in 2017, leading to the defendant taking more control of the business.
The court heard she had access to passwords and bank access codes that she ultimately abused, stealing almost $50,000.
Ms O’Sullivan said the defendant would change the name of her bank account to one the business would transfer to often.
"Melanie took advantage of us during that time, which was a difficult time for us all."
Worse than the monetary loss was the state Anderson had left the accounts in, she said.
"The accounts were a mess.
"I can only use the word sabotage."
The court heard the offending came out of greed and not need.
Anderson spent the stolen money on luxuries, including holidays, clothes and expensive handbags.
"We were invited to view her newly renovated home, that we now know we paid for," Ms O’Sullivan said.
"It has cost us money we simply did not have."
Another victim, Phil Collinson, owner of Eden Haulage Ltd, also spoke of how the offending affected him and his company.
The defendant was Mr Collinson’s de facto sister-in-law, the court heard.
Anderson stole almost $30,000 from the business while the victim was dealing with issues in his personal life.
"You are a very believable actor and liar," he told her.
"You strategically picked these periods of turmoil to dig deeper into our bank accounts."
Anderson said her own finances were out of hand and her shopping addiction took over.
She "had not intended to go as far as she did", she said.
"I woke up one day to find things had escalated beyond my control."
The court heard Anderson had paid full reparations to the victims earlier this year.
Counsel Jono Ross said in such cases it was "fairly rare for full reparation to be paid quite promptly, and certainly before sentencing".
Anderson now had a blue-collar job at a freezing works and had no access to accounts, he said.
He argued the woman had previously done things of good character, such as giving a kidney to her dad in 2019.
Judge Russell Walker noted the impact on the small businesses was large.
"The depth of their sense of betrayal is palpable," he said.
"I can put it no better than them: you have taken so much from them, their trust and friendship."
He sentenced the woman to nine months’ home detention.
Ms O’Sullivan said she was "gutted" by the outcome and had hoped Anderson would be sent to prison.
