A Canterbury business owner is warning others to protect themselves
from fraud after his office manager was jailed for stealing nearly
$200,000 from the company over five years.
Gillian Budge was
sentenced by Judge Jane Farish in the Christchurch District Court on
Tuesday to two years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to
a representative charge of theft by a person in a special relationship.
Budge
admitted stealing $196,742.22 from Christchurch-based Southern
Engineering Solutions while working as the company's office manager.
The
money was taken by transferring funds to two BNZ credit cards in more
than 60 separate transactions between December 2008 and 2013.
Company
owner Warren Rice said he discovered the offending when Budge - who had
worked for the company for more than 10 years - went on leave in August
2013 and his wife, Chantel, filled in for her.
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