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Mary Mercedes Lea’aetoa was sentenced by Judge Belinda Lonsdale in Albany District Court on Thursday.
The court heard that Lea’aetoa pleaded guilty last year to fraud after he repeatedly withdrew money from the account of a 63-year-old woman over a nine-month period.
The 26-year-old man completed the theft by filling out forged withdrawal receipts.
The victim did not initially notice the unauthorised transactions, but when she discovered larger amounts ranging from $600 to $5,000 were being withdrawn regularly, she sought help from ANZ.
As far as Lea’aetoa knows, the retiree is receiving hospice care.
Prosecutors told the court the former bank teller used the stolen cash to buy a new iPhone, saying her offending was “driven by greed rather than need”.
But defence lawyer Sonya Anderson rejected that claim, telling the court her then 23-year-old client needed to provide financial support by buying food and alcohol for his family.
Ms Anderson said her client was “ashamed” of the crimes and her family had rejected her since her arrest.
ANZ sacked Lea’aetoa following a four-and-a-half-hour internal investigation and interview, during which she denied her employer’s allegations.
The company concluded, based on all the probabilities, that Lea’aetoa was probably guilty and reported the matter to the police.
Judge slams ‘despicable’ behaviour
In sentencing, Judge Lonsdale said she noted the former bank clerk also refused to answer questions during his first police interview.
“It’s hard to accept that you feel sorry for anyone but yourself,” she said.
However, the judge did note that there was evidence that Lea’aetoa stole the money because she was under “financial control” by her family, who took her wages and gave her only $50 a week.
Judge Lonsdale said the defence’s request for a suspended sentence was “inappropriate” and that the “repeated offending, persistent breach of trust and the large sums of money stolen” warranted an immediate custodial sentence.
An ANZ spokesman said the bank had refunded the victims and took its responsibilities to customers seriously.
Lea’aetoa will be eligible for parole in July 2025.
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