A Tasmanian mother-of-four narrowly avoided jail after using her council job to scam home products worth $130,000.
Casey Maree Bryant, 40, from Bothwell, about an hour north of Hobart, was working as an administrative officer for the Central Highlands Council when she created a Bunnings membership with her employer’s details.
A court heard on Friday that she would buy items from Bunnings and other retailers, pay in cash from the council and then enter the items into the system as for the council’s use.
Ms Bryant pleaded guilty in the Tasmanian Supreme Court to more than 200 counts, including 60 counts of fraud and 116 counts of inserting false information as data.
Her husband Jamie Glen Bryant, 42, pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud for submitting fraudulent purchase orders to retailers including Bunnings, Harvey Norman and Beaurepaires.
Casey Maree Bryant used her job on a Tasmanian council to fraudulently purchase $130,000 worth of household goods over eight years, mostly from Bunnings.
Ms Bryant also used a council United Fuel card to purchase petrol when the card was linked to a council-owned diesel vehicle.
Among the $130,000 in products scammed between 2012 and 2020 were items purchased from retailers such as Brierly Hose and Battery World.
But most were from Bunnings and included barbecue tools, a lawnmower and a water fountain valued at $1,000.
His offenses only stopped when a Bunnings employee notified the council about a discrepancy in his account, which then led to a council investigation.
The court heard the offense occurred when the couple had significant expenses such as a mortgage, car loans and IVF treatments, but Judge Stephen Estcourt described the scam as “calculated”.
He said the couple had deprived the small council, which serves 2,200 residents, of much-needed funds for their personal benefit.
However, he noted that the couple had four children, including two newborns.
“If she were imprisoned, the newborn twins would suffer the consequences,” he said, according to the ABC.
Ms. Bryant was sentenced to 18 months of home detention with electronic monitoring.
He will also have to perform 210 hours of community service and repay more than $5,000 to the council and more than $127,000 to the insurer.