Belinda Jayne Simmonds: Ex-NRL WAG swindled $90k from childcare

The wife of former Dragons winger Reece Simmonds used a company credit card hundreds of times to fraudulently obtain tens of thousands of dollars of items including Christmas shopping.

An ex-NRL wag has admitted in court to shamefully swindling more than $90,000 from a south coast childcare centre over five years.

Belinda Simmonds, the wife of former Dragons winger Reece Simmonds, appeared in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday alongside her husband to plead guilty to two fresh counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception.

The guilty plea comes just weeks after the matter was part-heard before Magistrate Michael O‘Brien with 41 dishonesty charges now being withdrawn.

The brazen behaviour happened between 2013 and 2018 when Simmonds was working as a finance manager for the not-for-profit Shellharbour Kiama Family Day Care.

This period was immediately after the retirement of her husband who played 57 games in the NRL before coaching Illawarra rugby league club Wests Red Devils.

Simmonds seemingly used the company card as if it were her own, with the mother-of-three spending at stores including a $750 trip to Kmart and a $600 spend at Target just three days before Christmas in 2014.

The court documents read Simmonds spent $450 at The Body Shop as well as purchasing a dining table set from Freedom Furniture in Warrawong.

Belinda Simmonds stole $90,000 when she exploited her company card. Picture: Instagram

The documents showed Simmonds used the childcare centre’s cash for a $543 shop at Woolworths in Fairy Meadow, a short drive from her Towradgi home, as well as more than $1000 for a new set of tyres and wheel alignment at Jax Tyres.

The childcare centre caught wind of Simmonds fraudulent behaviour and fired her in July, 2018, with a subsequent police investigation leading to a search of her Marine Pde abode in Towradgi.

Police seized items believed to be purchased using the childcare centre’s money, including the Freedom Furniture dining set, before placing Simmonds under arrest.

The detectives also found a revealing message sent by Simmonds to a friend in the weeks leading up to her being sacked by the childcare provider.

Belinda Simmonds with her husband Reece. Picture: Instagram

“As soon as I hear my laugh out loud I feel so shameful that in such f****** s*** times I can even find it within myself to smile,” part of the message said.

“I haven‘t had any tears falling since midday though so I might be almost dried up. I still cannot believe I was that f****** stupid.

“I cannot believe that even though I knew what I was doing was so-so f****** wrong, I continued to do it.

“I still cannot believe that person is inside me. I hate her … Trying to be as normal as I can so I don‘t drag Reece and the kids any lower.

“They don‘t deserve this. I don’t even deserve their love, I’ll probably never have their trust again.”

Simmonds will return to Wollongong Local Court in November.