A woman racked up more than $5600 on her husband’s employer’s fuel card after she found herself in a “financial pickle” last year, according to her lawyer.
Desiree Khan Mikaere, 33, was sentenced to 100 hours of community work in the Nelson District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to 49 dishonesty charges.
She was also ordered to pay back $5662.10 to her partner’s employer.
The court heard how, between 1 February and 7 September 2022, Mihaere used the fuel card to charge 49 separate transactions at fuel stations all over the South Island. The charges ranged between $47.20 and $172.54.
Defence lawyer John Sandston says she found herself in a financial pickle last year, which she has since sorted by getting a job.
He says she pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and her husband began paying back his employer, who runs a concreting company in Richmond. At time of sentencing, he had already paid back roughly $900.
Judge David Ruth told Mihaere that she had been very co-operative with the judicial process and that she, along with her husband, had been making a “real effort” with reparation.
“The pre-sentence report tells me this occurred when there were debts piling up and you felt this was the only way you could get on top of things,” he said.
“This was not the right way to do it.”
He sentenced Mihaere to 100 hours of community work to be served concurrently on each of the 49 charges. He also ordered her to pay back the full amount through weekly instalments.
