Teller stole from elderly customer | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

A former teller who stole $69,500 from her bank and an elderly customer, spent some of the money on her wedding reception.

Wanganui woman Fesueai Sue Ah Honi, also known as Fesueai Sue Alatimu, was convicted in the Wanganui District Court of two counts of theft by a person in a special relationship, 15 counts of obtaining by deception over $1000, and two counts of obtaining by deception under $500.

She was sentenced to 10 months' home detention, 200 hours' community work, and ordered to pay reparation of $69,500 by Judge Dugald Matheson.

Ah Honi, 28, was an employee of a BNZ Bank branch in Wellington, where she worked as a teller for about seven years.

She was regarded as one of the most experienced employees at the branch and was treated like an assistant manager - she was a key holder, opening and closing the store, and also held a key to the safe.

On June 14 and 18, 2010, she was carrying out the job of balancing the BNZ ATM money canisters and recording the balance totals.

On both occasions, she underwrote the totals, removing a combined total of $7000.

While working at the bank, she dealt with one elderly female customer several times.

Between July 2010 and December 2010, without the customer's permission, she debited $62,500 from two of the woman's accounts.

Once she had debited the account, she would remove the corresponding amount of cash from the safe.

Combined with money stolen from the bank, she took a total of $69,500.

The money taken from the customer was reimbursed by the bank.

When confronted, Ah Honi admitted taking the money, saying she gave the cash to family friends from overseas to help them when they came to New Zealand.

She also said she used some of the money to pay for the catering at her wedding.

Since her dismissal from the bank she has been working as an early childhood carer in Wanganui.

Ah Honi's counsel, Richard Leith, said she had attempted to organise reparation, but did not have the funds available herself, so had been asking family to help her.

Her parents had chipped in and $10,000 was repaid to the bank just last week. She was very remorseful and deeply ashamed, he said.

She participated in restorative justice, which was a very hard thing for her to do.

Judge Matheson said one of the restorative justice reports showed her former supervisor had been deeply affected by what she had done.

He'd had to meet with the daughter of the elderly customer, who cried with relief when she met him because she had thought her mother had been going senile and had spent large amounts of money which was not accounted for.

Judge Matheson told Ah Honi to reflect on her family, and think about how her victim's family had felt when they thought their mum had been on a $62,000 spending spree.

"It's shameful," he said.

He said Ah Honi was Samoan of culture, birth and way of life and therefore had a strong ethical base, with respect for family, elders, and the church.

"It beggars belief that someone such as you should be here appearing on charges of taking from an elderly woman in the community", he said.

She was married to a man of the church, had a 3-month old child, and had no previous convictions.

She pleaded guilty to the charges relatively early.

"This is about you fronting up and acknowledging you're wrong ... I think you have put this in the too-hard basket and have hidden from it for too long."

He thought she did have some remorse, and generally conducted affairs in the community in an exemplary manner, as she did in her working life.

That really made the whole process worse, he told her, "You had gone so well, when you fall from grace, you fall from a great height."

Judge Matheson said sending Ah Honi to jail would help her hide, and it was more effective to leave her in the community, facing their disapproval.

When people asked her why she had to carry out community work, Ah Honi was going to have to acknowledge that she stole from an elderly woman, Judge Matheson said.