Gawler Books owner Allison Sadler provided fake employee timebooks to defraud insurance company, court hears

A bookshop owner injured in a crash provided fake employee timebooks as part of an “exorbitant” $600,000 insurance claim, a court has heard.

A bookshop owner injured in a crash tried to defraud an insurance company using fake employee timebooks which claimed her partner worked hundreds of hours in her shop, a court has heard.

Gawler Books owner Allison Sadler lodged a civil claim with the District Court for more than $600,000 after she was hit from behind while cycling in 2012.

As part of that claim, she provided two timebooks asserting her partner had worked 1700 hours in her shop in 2015 and 2016 while he also worked full-time for Telstra.

A police investigation found her partner was often either interstate for work, in relationship counselling with his ex-wife or at pubs or supermarkets on occasions he was listed as working.

Earlier this year, a jury found Sadler, 50, guilty of a charge of dishonestly dealing with documents.

Patrick Dawes, prosecuting, this week told the court Sadler’s offending was “sophisticated” and had required the “conscientious efforts of the police to obtain extensive financial records” to unravel.

“The timebooks on their face did seem to be excessive and perhaps an exaggeration but the true falsity of the timebooks only came out upon a proper police investigation,” he said.

Allison Sadler. Picture: Ian Roddie

During the trial Mr Dawes said Sadler had intended to deceive Allianz when she provided the timebooks as part of her insurance claim of “more than $600,000”.

“On the prosecution case that was an exorbitant figure, an unrealistic figure, but nonetheless it was a figure put forward on the accused’s behalf,” he said.

“She claimed that since the accident she had difficulty lifting and sorting books in her shop. She claimed that she was physically required to turn over books, otherwise pages would turn yellow.

He said independent medical assessments had “seriously undermined” her claim of being “permanently incapacitated” by the crash.

He said Allianz “had suspicions about the number of hours the accused had recorded” given the store’s size and turnover. They referred the matter to police who charged Sadler in January 2018.

Chris Kummerow, for Sadler, had told the jury his client “did not know the timebooks were false” and that she had no intention of deceiving Allianz.

He said the couple had an unpaid arrangement and she planned to give part of her eventual settlement to her partner – who did not give a statement to police, nor evidence at trial.

In the hearing this week, Mr Kummerow said Sadler continued to suffer chronic pain as a result of the crash, particularly in her lower back.

He said she had lodged an appeal against the jury verdict and had recently been offered a $28,000 settlement by Allianz which was “being considered”.

Sadler will be sentenced next month.