Fraudster ex-NAB employee Rosemary Rogers jailed after multimillion dollar kickback scheme
The long list of luxury gifts a now-jailed top bank employee received through a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme have been detailed in court.
A high-ranking bank employee who was lavished with millions of dollars worth of extravagant gifts as part of a kickback scheme in which she and her “bestie” defrauded the NAB has been jailed.
Rosemary Rogers, 45, was on Wednesday led away by sheriffs inside Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court after she was convicted of a string of offences over the long-running scheme.
The laundry list of gifts Rogers received as part of the $12 million fraud scheme can be revealed.
They included cash, private jets, a luxury BMW worth $172,000, two boats, a caravan and domestic and international holidays - including trips to Europe, the USA and Fiji - travelling business class for her and extended family.
She also received $1.85 million which went towards a four-bedroom Melbourne mansion and money for the renovation of her beach holiday home at Bellbrae on the Victorian coast.
The disgraced former chief of the staff to the NAB CEO pleaded guilty to 64 charges including corruptly receiving a benefit and obtaining a financial gain by deception
The Melbourne woman did not speak or react as Judge Paul Conlon sentenced her to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of four years and nine months, meaning she will be eligible to be released in October 2025.
Rogers received $5.5 million in kickbacks from Helen Rosamond, who she referred to in texts as her “bestie” and “sister from another mother”.
Ms Rosamond, the CEO of events management company Human Group, has pleaded not guilty and will face trial later this year.
As part of the nearly five-year scheme, Rogers would use her position as chief of staff to then NAB CEO Andrew Thorburn to approve inflated invoices submitted by Ms Rosamond and her company.
The court heard there was little detail in the invoices however Rogers would approve them and in return she would receive gifts from Ms Rosamond.
In total, the Human Group received $12,346,171 from the NAB which they were not entitled to.
The court heard that Rogers’ family would often pay her back for their share of the trips however she would never refund Ms Rosamond.
During this period, they talked about their children and relationships, met for dinner at high-end restaurants, attended sporting events and races together, and referred to each other as part of an extended family.
The court heard Rogers paid the invoices knowing they were false and exceeded legitimate expenses.
“I find it staggering that those frauds were not detected by some internal audit by the National Australia Bank,” Judge Conlon said.
“All that was required for these frauds to have been perpetrated on the bank was for the Human Group to submit an invoice for very substantial sums devoid of details in respect to work undertaken and sent off and merely approved.”
In a statement, NAB said it had a zero tolerance for criminal activity and had since increased its checks and balances to catch similar cases.
From July 2013 until February 2018, the Human Group received $44 million in revenue from the NAB and from 2015 the bank was its only client.
Rogers had been an employee with the NAB since 1995 and was the chief of staff to the CEO from January 2009 until she resigned in December 2017 after the scheme was uncovered.
In her role, she had the personal authority to approve invoices of up to $20 million.
Included in the kickbacks was $1.85 million given to Rogers to buy a $3.8 million trophy home in Melbourne’s Williamstown.
The court heard that Rogers approved a $2.2 million invoice which purported to be for costs related to the recruitment of former NSW Premier Mike Baird.
“The Human Group was not involved in the on-boarding of Mr Baird and the offender knew that,” Judge Conlon said.
The scheme came toppling down in December 2017 when an anonymous whistleblower tipped off the NAB board.
After initially denying to the bank’s investigators that she had done anything wrong, she then made full admissions and agreed to step down.
Despite this, she still received an $186,000 payout as well as a final salary payment of $615,000 which included bonuses.
The court heard that she was initially motivated to defraud the company because the 24/7 nature of the role had placed a strain on her family and she wanted to give something back to them.
In a letter to the court said that she was “truly sorry” for the damage she had done to the company which had been “part of my life for 25 years which had been a second home and family”.
She will give evidence during Ms Rosamond’s trial later this year.
KICKBACKS
The money, gifts and inducements received by Rosemary Rogers from Helen Rosamond as part of her scheme to defraud the NAB.
* $76,169 for flights from Melbourne to Sydney for Rogers and her husband and accommodation, a stay at Melbourne’s Crown Towers, two holidays for Rogers and her extended family to Sydney which included a charter boat and chauffeur service.
* $7517 for family holiday to Fiji
* $37,716 for a prepaid MasterCard
* $159,480 for European holiday for extended family including business class flights and stay at high end accommodation including the Savoy Hotel in Florence.
* $350,000 deposited into Rogers’ bank account via bank cheque
*$44,911 for business class flights, stay at the Emirates One and Only Resort at Wolgan Valley, NSW including private helicopter service to the resort
* $4006 for family to stay at Melbourne’s Crown Towers
* $145,000 in bank transfer to Rogers’ personal bank account
* $40,143 for extended family holiday to Sydney including business class flights and stay in the most expensive room at the Sydney Park Hyatt.
* $46,090 for a 2014 Bayliner 185BR boat
* $24,136 Fiji holiday for extended family including business class flights
* $96,423 on a prepaid MasterCard
* $620,627 for a USA holiday for Rogers and her extended family travelling to New York, Washington, Miami and Hawaii. Flying business class and included private yet charter, a luxury yacht cruise and a chauffeur.
* $128,555 for renovations for her Bellbrae home near Torquay
* $122, 924 for various holidays and stays including the Gold Coast, Polperro Winery in Melbourne, Crown Towers, Wolgan Valley near the Blue Mountains and Crown Metropol.
* $172,162 for a BMW X5 M5 SUV
* $7500 for a 12-month marina berth for her boat
*$91,290 for a - 2015 Bunkhouse Model Cell caravan
* $140,814 for flights and accommodation for Rogers and her family to Tasmania, Adelaide, Sydney, Crown Towers, Broome in Western Australia, Wolgan Valley.
* $250,414 for business class flights and stay on a private island in Fiji.
* $110,000 pre-paid MasterCard
* $110,000 pre-paid MasterCard
* $7500 for a 12-month marina berth for her boat
* $6398 for flights to Chile for Rogers’ nanny and her daughter
* $17,939 for Perth holiday and two stays at Crown Towers
* $115,000 to upgrade her boat to a Chaparral Boat via a trade-in deal for her Bayliner.
* $468,726 for extensions and renovations for her Bellbrae home.
* $159,021 for four stays at Crown Towers, a Wolgan Valley holiday, three trips to Torquay and another to Berkeley River in Western Australia.
* $7500 for a 12-month marina berth for her boat
* $1446 dinner at Dinner by Heston for Rogers and three guests
* $127,519 for stays at Crown Towers, Port Douglas in Queensland, the Gold Coast and Sydney.
* $7500 for a 12-month marina berth for her boat
* $380,000 paid to Rogers’ real estate agent for purchase of her Williamstown home
* $1.5 million transfer from the Human Group to bank account of Rogers’ personal bank account
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