The man, who was granted final name suppression, was sentenced by Judge Russell Walker on charges of theft and theft by a person in a special relationship, in the Queenstown District Court last week.
After joining the company in 2013, the defendant became manager of its store at The Palms shopping mall in Christchurch in 2016 before taking up the manager’s role in Queenstown in 2019.
In April last year, three co-workers approached management over their concerns he was not following company procedures and conducting unlawful activity.
He was suspended the following month, then resigned, when the company launched an internal investigation.
The subsequent police investigation found between February 2019 and May last year, first in Christchurch and then in Queenstown, his offending included stealing jewellery, processing fictitious refunds, making refunds into personal bank accounts, giving customers personal account numbers to pay for jewellery, and misappropriating cash.
A total of $77,427.34 in cash and money transfers was misappropriated from the two stores.
On October 7 last year, police searched his home and found 14 items of jewellery in his bedroom wardrobe, including diamond rings, wedding bands, gold chains, a necklace and earrings.
Among the items was a diamond ring he had listed for sale on an online trading site earlier that year.
The items, excluding the diamond ring, were valued at $18,030.
The final loss to the company was calculated at just over $50,000.
Defence counsel Bryony Shackell said the defendant had a serious gambling addiction.
He was extremely remorseful, and had proactively sought professional help to address the issue.
A probation service report stated the defendant had "felt sick" stealing the cash, and had trouble sleeping throughout the period of his offending.
He told the report writer he had stolen from a business he loved, letting his addiction "completely overpower my morals and beliefs".
Judge Walker told the defendant his offending had subsidised a lifestyle he could not otherwise afford, and was a major breach of trust, given his role as branch manager.
He gave discounts for the guilty pleas, previous good character, offer to pay reparation, remorse, and prospects for rehabilitation, arriving at a term of 16 and a-half months in prison.
That was converted to a sentence of eight months’ home detention.
The defendant, who will be subject to post-detention conditions for six months, must pay the company $25,000 in reparation immediately, with the rate of payment of the balance to be decided after his financial position is established.
Judge Walker granted the defendant final name suppression on the grounds publication would be detrimental to his recovery from his gambling addiction and other mental health issues.
