Tennant Creek AusPost manager Rebecca Liebelt sentenced over $425,000 money laundering scheme
The manager of a small Territory town’s only post office has been jailed for trying to steal nearly $500,000. See how the scheme worked.
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A small town post office manager who swindled $425,000 to pay for holidays, business investments and bills will spend the next six months in prison.
Former Tennant Creek Australia Post franchisee Rebecca Liebelt, 37, was sentenced in the NT Supreme Court earlier this month.
The mother-of-four admitted to running the money laundering scheme in the remote Territory community, pleading guilty to stealing cash and obtaining property by deception in July.
Justice Sonia Brownhill described Liebelt’s “sophisticated” and elaborate methods of depositing the stolen money.
The court heard the money laundering scheme began in March 2019, with a $2000 fake deposit into a joint business account with her husband via the Australia Post Bank System.
Over 22 months Liebelt would make a total of 72 fake deposits totalling $404,749.95.
“You moved the stolen funds around repeatedly and withdrew cash from ATMs across Tennant Creek, thereby overcoming the $2000 cash withdrawal limits,” she said.
“You funnelled some of the stolen cash back into the Tennant Creek Post Office to avoid detection.
“And you also unplugged the internet modem to cause system issues to avoid detection.”
Liebelt also admitted to stealing $21,000 in cash from the till.
Liebelt moved the stolen money across seven personal and business accounts, some shared with her husband, cycling the loot between four different banks
Her husband and livestock agent, Greg Liebelt, has previously argued he was not aware of the theft.
In July, barrister Peter Maley said Mr Liebelt would contest the charges, with the case likely to proceed to trial in the Supreme Court.
Justice Brownhill said the financial irregularities raised the suspicion of Australia Post, who conducted a surprise audit in January 2021.
Australia Post was awarded a default judgment, forcing Liebelt to pay back $86,478.32 on top of the outstanding stolen funds and the costs of the lease.
Justice Brownhill said Australia Post spent $77,000 in legal fees, auditing fees, paying staff to travel to the remote location and other debt recovery costs.
After taking over the Tennant Creek branch in June 2021, the company spent a further $365,000 to keep the remote post office running.
“Public confidence in Australia Post is also most likely to have been affected by your offending,” Justice Brownhill said.
Justice Brownhill said the theft was not motivated by “some specific need for the money”, with the loot used for bills, personal goods, business investments and travel.
“Your explanation for the offending is that you were using the stolen funds to prop up the cash flow issues in the business while your husband worked very long hours,” she said.
On Monday October 3, Justice Brownhill sentenced the mother-of-four to four years and six months in prison.
However, after six months behind bars Liebelt will move to home detention, where she will be required to wear a monitoring device and be drug and alcohol tested.
If she does not reoffend the remaining three years of her sentence will be suspended.
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