Trusted Employee Stole More Than $350,000 Almost Crippling Her Employer

Dionne Guinness, from Papamoa Beach, pleaded guilty to 11 charges of fraud having stolen $352,698.45 between 2010 and 2014 from her employer, Jamie Black. She was sentenced to two-and-half-years' prison in Tauranga District Court. Outside court, Mr Black said two-and-half years in prison was not long enough for ruining their lives, and thought it should have been four to five years.

Guinness worked for Sportcraft Marine Limited for nine years as an office assistant and according to the owners Jamie and Violet Black, she nearly crippled their business and almost destroyed their marriage.

Guinness not only paid herself extra wages of $40,811.76 but also wrote cheques out to herself and family members worth tens of thousands of dollars. She also made substantial direct credits into her own bank accounts, and paid personal bills from company funds.

The fraudulent activity only came to light in August 2014, when discrepancies were noticed in wages paid to Guinness. Owner Jamie Black said it was like opening "Pandora's Box".

Mr Black, said in his victim impact statement that his family and staff were devastated and all felt betrayed by Guinness' deception, as she had been a trusted staff member.

In court he read out "We are a company that is like a big family and we treated Dionne like a family member. She knew things were tight financially and still stole from us when we had to lay two staff off. She stole from us when she knew we were seriously struggling and did not care about the other staff and their families who were faced with losing their livelihoods".

Guinness used the money to buy a car and a house during the period of her offending and also paid for overseas trips, even hiring a yacht and paying for everyone else on board. Mr Black said Guinness' offending had had a dramatic effect on his physical and mental health, and he had needed to take out another $100,000 mortgage to keep the business solvent.

Mr Black acknowledged the loyalty and support of his customers and staff and stated without it the business would have gone under. He also said he had never received an apology from Guinness or any members of her family.

Guinness claimed the house she bought in Papamoa Beach in 2014 was a leaky home, and would cost in excess of $100,000 to fix, so it would be unlikely to have any equity if sold because of her $270,000 mortgage and other personal debts.

The judge told Guinness he did not accept that claim, because there was no evidence to prove it, and made a reparation order of $300,000 knowing it was unlikely ever to be paid in full.

The Judges intent was to force the equity in the house to be explored fully in the hope her victims could at least be repaid some money.

If you run a small business, it is important to have sound processes with checks and balances in place to maintain the integrity of not only your employees but also your business. Please see our article on Peventing Employee Fraud for more information.