Former top public servant Veronica Hilda Theriault pleads guilty to falsifying identity to score lucrative job with top salary
A FORMER high-ranking public servant has admitted falsifying her identity – and that of her brother – to deceive the State Government and line their own pockets.
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A FORMER high-ranking public servant has admitted falsifying her identity – and that of her brother – to deceive the State Government and line their own pockets.
In the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday, Veronica Hilda Theriault pleaded guilty to multiple deception and fraud offences.
She appeared by video link from WA – her brother, Alan Hugh Melville Corkill, faced court in person and confessed to two offences of his own.
The duo will now face sentencing submissions in the District Court, but Theriault’s bid to deal with the case from a distance drew the court’s ire.
Magistrate Elizabeth Sheppard said assertions, from the bar table, that Theriault was receiving treatment for psychiatric issues were insufficient.
“Two lines (in a letter) from a mental health facility aren’t enough – you will have to do better than that,” she told Theriault’s lawyer.
Theriault, 44, of Claremont in WA, is the former chief information officer for the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Between May 24, 2017, and June 23, 2017, she fraudulently portrayed herself as a “senior leadership official” by assuming false identities and writing herself references.
She also invented a totally fraudulent background, falsifying her purported “20 years of experience” and netting herself a $244,000-a-year position.
Theriault also employed Corkill on lucrative $1500-a-day contracts before her sacking, just seven weeks after she started in the role.
On Thursday, Theriault pleaded guilty to five counts while Corkill pleaded guilty to two.
Although an arrest warrant had been issued for Theriault, to activate if she did not attend court in person, her lawyer Nic Kernahan asked she be excused.
“I don’t know if she’ll be well enough to attend the District Court, as her treatment is ongoing,” he said.
“It is a psychiatric problem, she has bipolar, and it’s a condition that will settle for a few weeks at a time and then she winds up back in a facility.
“I will have to monitor her and provide updates to the court.”
Prosecutors did not object to Theriault’s absence but asked the warrant activate if she did not face the District Court in person – Ms Sheppard agreed.
She remanded the duo on continuing bail until next month.