Former ANZ boss Tracey Lee Cook sentenced over $300k scam

TRACEY Cook wiped away tears in court as she was jailed for using junior staff to help her steal more than $311k from her employer.

A MOTHER-OF-TWO who used her plum job at ANZ bank — and her power over junior employees — to steal more than $300,000 cried in court as she was jailed.

Tracey Lee Cook was found guilty last week of obtaining financial advantage by deception when she transferred $311,529.62 in fraudulent cheques into accounts belonging to herself and her husband.

She used the money to purchase a jetski, pay off a credit card and put down a deposit on an investment property. It was all part of what a judge said was a massive breach of trust in the pursuit of a lavish lifestyle.

The 44-year-old appeared in the Victorian County Court on Friday morning where Judge Trevor Wraight sentenced her to 24 months in prison with a minimum term of 15 months.

She wiped away tears when he talked about her being away from her daughters, one of whom is in her final year of high school.

Judge Wraight said Cook abused her role as a senior manager overseeing junior staff.

“Your offending was a gross breach of trust ... in circumstances where you were already earning significant income.

“Your offending was calculated and designed to avoid detection.”

He said Cook “knew it was wrong” and staff “never asked questions because they trusted you as a leader”.

Cook, who worked as a senior manager of transaction processing, was in charge of a team of 162 people who dealt with cheque processing and, more specifically, holding “dishonoured cheques”.

A dishonoured cheque is one that cannot be recovered and has a value that is “written off”.

According to court documents viewed by news.com.au, Cook “offended by asking staff members, subordinate to her and whom she managed”, to process 14 dishonoured cheques for her.

Tracey Cook will spend at least 15 months in prison.

The money went straight into accounts used to benefit her, her family or various third parties. Some of the money went to the Australian Taxation Office, some of it went to her sister, some of it went to a law firm to pay a deposit on an investment property and some of it went to a

man who sold her a jetski.

She was caught after a staff member noticed more than $29,00 missing from an account. Upon investigating, the funds had been transferred into an account belonging to Cook’s husband.

Judge Wraight said she “became distraught” and was “crying when confronted” by a senior manager with allegations of theft and deception.

Prosecutors said Cook tried to “cover-up” her behaviour with additional transactions aimed as “disguising and concealing ... her fraudulent activity”.

On some occasions she transferred money into and out of various accounts which delayed any investigation as per ANZ practice.

Cook provided false information about why the ANZ accounts were being debited. She told senior staff that a change in the delivery company used by ANZ was responsible for missing bags of cheques. But her plan unravelled when a junior staff member raised a red flag.

Cook immediately confessed and repaid the entire amount she stole. Following an investigation, her employment with ANZ was terminated. She had been with the bank since 1997.

The court heard on Friday that Cook was a member of a large family and struggled with the loss of her father and difficulties with her marriage prior to offending.

She “abused alcohol”, the court was told, but co-operated fully with investigators and with Victoria Police after she was caught out.

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