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

A forensic accountant has taken the stand in a Sunshine Coast trial to give evidence about how the Bistro C bookkeeper allegedly spent the siphoned money.

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

A forensic accountant has told a court of her investigations into what a former bookkeeper for popular Noosa restaurant Bistro C did with the hundreds of thousands of dollars she allegedly swindled from the business.

Jodi Louise Nuske, 44, is on trial in the Maroochydore District Court after she pleaded not guilty to one charge of defrauding her former workplace, popular Hastings St restaurant Bistro C.

On December 8, the fourth day of the trial, crown prosecutor Alex Stark called a fifth witness, forensic accountant Lisa Demartini.

The court was told Ms Demartini had conducted a financial investigation into allegations Ms Nuske had siphoned $768,888.82 from the business between 2013 and 2016, while she was employed as a bookkeeper.

During her evidence in chief, Ms Demartini said her report from her investigation supported the Crown case Ms Nuske had moved funds from accounts associated with Bistro C without authorisation.

Ms Demartini told the court during her findings summary, which came after analysing the bank accounts attached to Bistro C and those attached to Ms Nuske and related parties, funds taken from accounts tied to Bistro C had been “dispersed” in “a number of ways”.

Maroochydore Courthouse. Picture: Patrick Woods.

She said these included unauthorised funds being taken from Bistro C accounts and paid to third parties where the goods and services were received by Ms Nuske but had no connection to Bistro C.

They included school fee payments for Ms Nuske’s children, payments for a new home Ms Nuske and her husband were building in Noosaville and patents for a business start up Ms Nuske wanted to pursue.

Ms Demartini went on and said there were further payments from Bistro C accounts to Ms Nuske’s not associated with her wages, and wages paid to Ms Nuske in excess.

She told the court she understood, after reading various witness statements, Ms Nuske’s role meant she was responsible for paying certain employees’ wages.

She also included an estimate of Bistro C’s cash takings in her summary, where she said the money was believed to have been retained by Ms Nuske without authorisation.

“When you add up all of those figures, they come to a total of almost $769,000,” she told the court.

Ms Nuske’s defence counsel will cross-examine Ms Demartini on Monday, December 12.

Earlier in the week Ms Nuske’s defence counsel pointed out an apology claimed to have been received by Ms Nuske’s former employer, Lorraine Banks, was missing from Ms Banks’ 17-page police statement, to which she agreed.

Ms Nuske’s defence counsel also claimed a prosecution witness had done cocaine in front of Ms Nuske outside work hours, an accusation the witness declined to answer on the grounds of privilege of self incrimination.