Ipswich workers caught stealing from their employers | List
They were trusted workers who ended up with ill-gotten gains snatched from their bosses. These dishonest Ipswich employees were all found out and paid a high price for their crimes.
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Many were trusted workers who ended up stealing from their bosses right under their noses.
In some cases, their offending went on for years without anyone noticing, while for others it was deemed to be an aberration.
From a fraudster dad who supplied his family with new iPhones and computers from his ill-gotten gains, to a cleaner who nicked clothes and jewellery from clients, these Ipswich thieves all eventually faced justice for their crimes.
Some of these cases shine a light on just how much of a blow offences such as fraud and stealing can have on a business not only financially, but also in terms of the effect it has on the ability of businesses to trust their employees.
In some of the cases the Queensland Times has reported on recently, employees who are up to no good go to great lengths in order to hide their wrongdoing.
Sometimes, all it takes is a hint of suspicion by a co-worker for the whole scheme to fall apart.
JESSE EDWARD ALFRED WILLMOT
A young Ipswich man who took part in a scrap metal scam that defrauded a Brisbane recycling business of $78,000 narrowly avoided jail.
Jesse Willmot fronted Brisbane District Court in November last year, where he pleaded guilty to his role in defrauding Recycling Metal Industries Pty Ltd over five months in 2018.
The court was told that Willmot had only been working for the business for about three weeks when a regular customer approached him and allegedly encouraged Willmot to help him defraud the company.
Willmot did this by inflating the weight of the scrap metal that the man was selling in return for a cut in the profits.
CCTV footage showed the pair weighing drums twice, adding scrap metal already on site into the drums and Tawil allegedly reselling the same drums to the company.
Willmot pleaded guilty to stealing by clerks or servants and fraud.
Willmot was sentenced to three years’ jail, but was released on immediate parole.
NEIL TUKIAFE EFALAIMO TOGIAPOE
A logistics supervisor at a freight company from Camira ended up with nearly $8000 worth of stolen iPhones where he worked.
Neil Togiapoe pleaded guilty in Ipswich District Court to receiving tainted property and having reason to believe it was tainted.
The court heard minimal detail of the prosecution case as to exactly how Togiapoe received the mobile phones but it was revealed there were two co-accused.
The court heard Togiapoe received five iPhones with a wholesale value of around $1555 each – with a total value of $7775.
The court was told a theft took place at his workplace, DB Schenker Pty, where Togiapoe was employed as a logistics supervisor.
The phones had been in boxes in a storage area.
“In early 2018 co-workers of yours worked with you at the distribution centre,” Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren SC told him.
“They pulled off eight boxes of mobile phones. You are being sentenced for receiving five of the phones.”
Togiapoe was convicted and fined $1500.
KATRINA VILMA WESSLING
A woman who stole more than $40,000 from her Ipswich employer had nothing to show for the cash but “a couple of cats and dogs and a bird”.
Katrina Wessling pleaded guilty in Ipswich District Court to one count of stealing by clerks or servants in 2017.
The court heard Wessling did not gamble, smoke or take drugs but used the money she stole from family owned business Bluestar Caltex at Blacksoil over 15 months for living expenses.
When confronted about the missing cash Wessling tried to cover up the crime by telling her employer and the police she lost three days worth of takings when she left the money on top of her car or by making up excuses like she was too busy to do the daily banking.
The court heard the fraud she committed was part of a scheme called ‘lapping’ in which money was taken from daily banking to cover up previous banking losses.
Wessling resented her employer despite having worked at the business for a substantial amount of time and the owners reporting she was a hard working employee.
Wessling was sentenced to two-and-a-half years imprisonment, suspended after eight months for three years.
DOUG JOHN BATE
It was late in the evening when Doug Bate and a mate sneaked into the Ipswich meatworks where he worked to steal a haul of copper wire.
But his handiwork was filmed on CCTV and he was later recognised by his employer.
The Raceview pleaded guilty in Ipswich Magistrates Court in 2018 to stealing when a clerk/servant from Brisbane Meats at Churchill and trespass at a place of business.
It was 10pm at night, with the meatworks closed, that Bate and another male stole copper by dragging and carrying it out to a vehicle in Berry Street.
Bate had worked there for six years and the court heard he was motivated by financial difficulties.
Bate was sentenced to six months’ jail, immediately suspended for 18 months.
He received one-month jail concurrent for the trespass offence.
RAMECES MANGUERRA
A pest control company fell victim to a $122,000 fraud committed by a trusted employee who stole its termite and insecticide chemicals then sold them online.
Springfield Lakes man Rameces Manguerra was employed at Termx Replenishment Systems in Acacia Ridge in charge of stock control when he began stealing.
His crime only discovered when the company was sold by owner Colin Davies, with the Ipswich District Court told was left feeling “betrayed”.
Rameces Manguerra pleaded guilty to five charges; committing fraud where he dishonestly applied for his own use pest control chemicals and products belonging to Termx Replenishment Systems that yielded him at least $100,000; dishonestly applied for his own use pest control products and chemicals owned by Termx Replenishment Systems; disposed of property and pest treatment supplies suspected of being tainted property; carried out pest management activities, preparing pest chemicals for sale when not a pest technician; and when not licensed to carry out pest management activities as advertised did carry out that activity.
Manguerra joined the company in 2015 working in the warehouse.
The storeman was promoted to stock control and responsible for ordering and receiving the chemicals that were kept locked in a secure area.
But he began stealing the products and chemicals, stockpiling them at his home and selling the products on eBay.
Manguerra was sentenced to a four-year jail penalty and had repaid the company $130,000.
TRISTAN LEVI MITCHELL
A young employee of a popular McDonald’s restaurant fleeced his employer of more than $6000 because he couldn’t afford his rent.
There were so many such unusual transactions when Springfield Lakes man Tristan Mitchell was on shift at the Augustine Heights Macca’s that it caused a suspicious manager to review what was going on and to uncover his blatant dishonesty.
Mitchell pleaded guilty in Ipswich Magistrates Court in September to a charge of stealing as a servant.
Mitchell stole a total of $6,168.70.
McDonald’s business ledgers and CCTV were provided to the investigating detectives as evidence.
The manager told police of the large number of transactions keyed in as being e-vouchers and that the number was regarded as being quite unusual.
Mitchell was convicted and sentenced to six months’ jail, wholly suspended for 12 months.
BRENDAN MCCANN
A fraudster dad who ripped off his employer by at least $75,000 supplied his family with iPhones, computers and internet data with his unlawful gains.
It was all paid for the Queensland Agricultural Training College, until a work colleague sprung Brendan McCann for his unauthorised Telstra accounts.
The phone and internet data accounts were tracked to his children and mum and dad.
The Ipswich Magistrates Court heard the shopping spree included iPhones; 18 Apple Air Pods, six Apple watches, and seven Telstra handsets worth $7000 that he apparently gave to a friend to help him out of a debt.
McCann pleaded guilty in Ipswich Magistrates Court in 2019 to stealing when a clerk/servant ($39,000 value); and two charges of committing fraud by the dishonest application of property by an employee.
McCann admitted taking home electronic property phones and computers that belonged to the agricultural college and “doctored” invoices placing false orders.
Some of the property was sold on eBay or Gumtree.
In 2017 three new iPhones were shipped to QATC which he sold new.
He admitted selling about 20 phones online.
From early 2015 he doctored about a dozen receipts to hide the purchases of goods such as $998 iPad, a $750 security system for his home, $1600 worth of computer parts, and three LVC laptops for his children.
McCann was sentenced to a jail term of 30 months with immediate release on parole.
SHAYDE KATHRYN ROBECK
A debt of $40,000 and an inability to pay rent may be reasons why an employee stole money from her boss but it was not clear exactly how much the young woman stole.
Shayde Robeck stole money from her boss when working at a One Mile business but her attempt to cover the ongoing crime failed.
She pleaded guilty in Ipswich Magistrates Court in 2018 to stealing as a clerk and servant at One Mile between July 2015 and March 2017; and making false entries in a business record.
CCTV footage from the business had been provided to police with the court hearing Robeck was “in over her head” financially.
The court heard Robeck had debts of more than $40,000 and she had made attempts to cover her tracks.
Sentencing became complicated because detectives were unable to establish exactly how much money she stole.
Robeck was sentenced to a nine-month jail term for her offences, which was immediately suspended for 18-months.
MAOTUA LEVI
The tearful mother of Maotua Levi apologised to a judge for the crimes of her son, who stole $135,000 worth of mobile phones and items from his work.
Levi blamed the financial pressure of looking after his extended family for his criminal offending while employed as a courier for a Karalee company.
The court heard the father of two may have received just $6000 when he sold boxes of the phones to a man on the Gold Coast.
In 2019, Levi pleaded guilty in Ipswich District Court to committing fraud (dishonest application of property of another) valued at least $100,000.
The courier company did an audit and discovered that 21 consignments involving phones and related devices had not been delivered between May 10 and May 21, 2018.
Levi had deliberately not scanned the missing goods through the company system with the total loss worth $135,284, the court heard.
Levi was sentenced to four years jail.
He was ordered to serve 12 months, with the remaining three years then suspended for five years.
ARRON JOHN BOURKE
A tyre store manager whose marriage was breaking down stole more than $7000 in cash and stock from his former Lockyer Valley employer, pocketing the cash and handing out tyres to his mates.
Arron Bourke pleaded guilty in Beenleigh Magistrates Court in February to six offences committed against his former employer, Gatton Tyres and More.
They included four counts of stealing by a clerk/servant and one count each of forgery and uttering a forged document.
The court heard three of the thefts related to cash stolen from the business, while the fourth related to pilfered tyres, which he then handed off to his mates.
Bourke tried to cover up his egregious thefts by writing false stock reports, which aggravated the offending.
He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for a period of two years.
RACHEL KYMBERLEY GIRLING
A serial thief from Ripley who stole from her employer, her clients while working as a cleaner and from several stores was ordered to spend months behind bars.
Ipswich Magistrates heard last year Rachel Girling ripped off goods and jewellery worth around $30,000.
One woman’s summer wardrobe went missing during the off season after employing Girling as a cleaner.
Girling pleaded guilty to six charges of stealing when a clerk/servant between July 2018 and February 2019, and between May and June 2019; two counts of fraud at Bunnings in Springfield in March 2019; attempted fraud at Bunnings; possess tainted property; and breach of bail condition.
The court heard she stole goods from Bunnings by using barcodes from cheaper goods at the self-scan check-outs to get goods including a barbecue, table setting, Ryobi pressure cleaner, cordless vacuum cleaners, Nautica blinds, a child safety gate, and an elephant-shaped planter box.
The court heard she was employed as a facilities manager with Blackwoods when she offended against the company.
The value of her offending was $21,430.18 - with Blackwoods losing $10,878.
Officeworks was also a victim.
Coles suffered a $470 loss.
The total loss from all offences was $30,382.98 which included thefts when Girling was employed as a domestic cleaner.
Five of Girling’s victims were people whose houses she cleaned and she stole clothes, handbags and wedding and engagement rings.
Girling was sentenced to two years jail and ordered to serve eight months before given parole.
The remainder of the sentence was suspended for three years.
Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.
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