Jodi Louise Nuske on trial for allegedly defrauding Bistro C, Noosa

Tensions were high in a Sunshine Coast court as a Noosaville woman, on trial for taking $768,000 from a ritzy Hastings St restaurant, was grilled over the missing funds.

Jodi Louise Nuske leaves Maroochydore District Court. Pictured: Patrick Woods.

A lengthy trial over allegations Noosaville mother and former Bistro C book keeper Jodi Nuske swindled more than $750,000 from the ritzy restaurant has entered its seventh day.

Ms Nuske, 44, has pleaded not guilty to one charge of defrauding her former workplace between 2013 and 2016.

December 14 marked the seventh day of the trial, which has officially surpassed the estimated length previously submitted by Judge Gary Long.

Ms Nuske returned to the witness box for a third consecutive day, where she was cross-examined by crown prosecutor Alex Stark.

Tensions were high between Ms Nuske and Mr Stark, who were seen talking over each other before Judge Long had to intervene.

Mr Stark’s cross examination of Ms Nuske, which began on December 13, continued as he suggested Ms Nuske had not declared transactions she claimed as book keeping and consultancy fees on her tax return.

Ms Nuske previously told the court these fees accounted for half of her take home pay along with her salary.

Jodi Louise Nuske leaves Maroochydore District Court. Pictured: Patrick Woods.

In response to Mr Stark’s claim, Ms Nuske said the fees may be under another entity – one not included in an independent report conducted by a forensic analyst.

“I need to investigate myself … I would need to look at the tax returns for those other entities,” Ms Nuske said.

She was later allowed to view the files with her defence counsel, and told the court she found three different “Jodi” entities, and would need to discuss it with her accountant.

Later during the cross-examination, Mr Stark circled back to evidence Ms Nuske gave about cash bonuses, which she said were kept in her husband’s gun safe.

Cash payments from her husband’s work as a builder as well as money from selling items such as a tinnie were also in the safe, Ms Nuske said, and sometimes the money would not be deposited into a bank account right away.

Maroochydore Courthouse. Picture: Patrick Woods.

She said she was “not allowed” to access the safe, and only her husband could access it.

The cross-examination concluded when Ms Nuske rejected Mr Stark’s claims that the cash takings figure may be higher than reported, as suggested in a forensic analyst report, because she was allegedly removing money without any documentation.

Earlier in the trial, Ms Nuske accused her former employer, Lorraine Banks of tax fraud and said she gave one employee $150,000.

It came after it was revealed Ms Banks had not mentioned claims Ms Nuske apologised for allegedly taking the money after she was confronted in September 2022.

The trial continues on Thursday, December 15, where another witness is expected to be called by the prosecution.