Veronica Hilda Theriault apologises and admits shame and embarrassment over deception and dishonesty charges
Former public servant Veronica Theriault has apologised for falsifying her identity to score the lucrative position.
Law and Order
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A Western Australian woman, who faked her credentials to land a top South Australian Government job, has apologised for her offending, saying she’s deeply ashamed and embarrassed.
Veronica Hilda Theriault has pleaded guilty to deception and dishonesty charges over her dodgy resumé, which landed her a plum position in 2017.
Theriault, of Claremont in WA, was suffering from a bipolar disorder at the time.
Defence counsel told the District Court on Monday that her crimes were “not particularly sophisticated” and involved a unique set of circumstances that were unlikely to be repeated.
The court also heard that her crimes could have been detected much earlier than they actually were.
But the prosecution said there was an element of planning in her offending and it was not isolated.
The court was told she had used resumés with false information to obtain employment at two other companies in 2012 and 2014 and to win an award in 2014.
It was also alleged that Theriault’s motive for her crimes was to benefit financially.
Theriault’s fake resumé helped her secure the role of chief information officer at SA’s Department of Premier and Cabinet between May and August, 2017.
She also had her brother, Alan Hugh Melville Corkill, write a false reference claiming she was a senior leadership official with 20 years of experience.
Theriault later hired Corkill on contracts that earned him more than $23,000 in three weeks.
She will be sentenced on Wednesday.