A WOMAN will be sentenced next year after pleading guilty to defrauding an Armidale business of almost $90,000.
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Edna Mary Mendes appeared in Armidale Local Court this week and pleaded guilty to five fraud-related charges, after ripping off her former employers almost five years ago.
The 47-year-old entered guilty pleas to five charges of dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception before the rest were withdrawn by prosecutors.
As part of the guilty pleas, Mendes admitted to increasing her wages without approval under two separate owners of the business to the tune of $27,339.35 between 2010 and 2013.
Between 2011 and 2012, she conducted Eftpos transfers on 15 occasions, transferring $10,346.43 from the business’ bank account and putting it into her own.
Mendes then made a further 28 bank transfers, totalling $39,792.16, between July and October 2012.
During the same timeframe, Mendes also made 10 BPAY transactions totalling $10656.90, according to the charges before the court.
In total, Mendes has admitted to defrauding the Armidale-based business of $88,134.74.
During the proceedings, magistrate Michael Holmes accepted the guilty pleas and adjourned the case for sentencing to March next year.
Mendes remains on conditional bail.
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Detectives launched an investigation into the suspected fraud on the business after anomalies were first discovered in 2014 and 2015.
The police probe was instigated following an audit of the business’ accounting system.
Following the investigation, Mendes was arrested in September after handing herself into detectives for questioning at Armidale Police Station.
At the time of her arrest, detectives said the “investigation involved a thorough and detailed review of the company’s accounts and financial processes and that has culminated in this arrest”.
“This has been a lengthy, meticulous and tedious investigation involving the co-operation and assistance of the company and its employees,” Detective Sergeant Matt Crotty said at the time.
Breanna Chillingworth
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
