Julia Cole from Kempsey sentenced for Hurford Hardwood timber company fraud

A trusted worker who defrauded a Mid-North Coast company out of more than $500,000 in one year, and spent it on various ‘lifestyle’ items, was motivated by ‘greed’. Here’s her sentence.

Kempsey Police Station.

A trusted accounts worker motivated by “greed” has been jailed after defrauding a Mid-North Coast company of more than $500,000 over a one-year period.

Julia Cole escalated her offending and took measures to cover her tracks in the lead up to her resignation from Kempsey timber company Hurford Hardwood, Port Macquarie District Court heard on Thursday.

The 54-year-old’s “swan song” – as judge Michael King SC described it – was a payment to her bogus company ‘Kay Coler’ of $134,378.53 in December, 2023.

In the 12 months prior to this, payments to the phony log supply company she created within the company’s accounting system ranged from between $11,000 to more than $50,000 at a time for logs that didn’t exist.

Instead the payments went into various ANZ and Regional Australia Bank accounts under her control.

Julia Cole leaves Port Macquarie District Court on June 18, 2025 surrounded by family.

“This was an outrageous course of misconduct,” Judge King said and a “gross breach of trust” which resulted in the company operating at a loss in the 22/23 financial year.

He did not accept Cole’s defence lawyer’s submission that it was an unsophisticated operation.

Julia Cole attempts to avoid the camera as she leaves Port Macquarie District Court on June 18, 2025, surrounded by supporters. She was jailed the next day.

“It is entirely possible it could have continued for years if she maintained her job and restricted herself to much smaller amounts,” he said.

Her crimes were motivated by “greed” and the proceeds used for various “lifestyle” items including holidays, payments to family members, a deposit on a property at Glenn Innes and the purchase of an orange ute, Judge King said.

Cole’s lawyer told the court she had repaid about 60 per cent of what she had stolen and was suicidal and “virtually penniless”.

But Judge King said it was a “court-imposed repayment” with funds coming from the sale of her home after Hurford Hardwood moved to have her assets frozen.

Kempsey Police Station. Picture: Janine Watson.

Cole was arrested at her West Kempsey home on April 17 last year and charged with 15 counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and one count of dealing with the proceeds of crime.

In February this year she pleaded guilty to all charges.

Shortly after her arrest she was admitted to the mental health ward at Kempsey Hospital with “chronic suicidal ideation”, Judge King said.

He said Cole was feeling shame and fearful of the impact it would have, particularly on her relationship with her son “who did not look on her behaviour favourably”.

During sentencing he highlighted Cole’s educational qualifications – various diplomas in social work and business and a Bachelor of Education – and senior positions including that of a primary school teacher she had held over the years.

“She is an intelligent woman,” he said.

She had a modest upbringing on the NSW South Coast, one of five siblings living in housing commission accommodation.

The court also heard that she suffered from fibromyalgia but had managed to play soccer and hockey in her younger years.

In her written apology to the court she outlined her remorse and highlighted a gambling addiction but Judge King pointed out there was no evidence before the court to back this up.

Several references from friends and neighbours were tendered to the court with one stating that she was widely known for her warmth, kindness and infectious energy but since her arrest she had become noticeably withdrawn.

In sentencing Judge King recognised that Cole had been handed added roles and responsibilities during her time with Hurford Hardwood but her salary of approximately $60,000 per year remained the same.

It was also heard that she had made a complaint about a senior staffer’s sickness and “suspected pain killer misuse” but that she felt dismissed.

Judge King said it was not appropriate to take it upon herself to provide herself with an additional half a million dollars in one year out of a “sense of entitlement”.

Cole was given an aggregate sentence for all 16 charges of four years and six months starting on June 19 and finishing on December 18, 2029.

With a non-parole period of two years and three months she will be first eligible for parole on September 18, 2027.