Sydney businesswoman who defrauded NAB taken to prison

Sydney event management executive Helen Mary Rosamond has been taken to jail after being found guilty of defrauding the bank of millions of dollars.

Helen Rosamond (right) was found guilty of scores of charges of fraud against the National Australia Bank. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

A Sydney event management company executive has been sent to prison ahead of a sentencing hearing after she was found guilty of defrauding NAB of millions of dollars.

Last month Helen Mary Rosamond was found guilty of sending falsified and inflated invoices from Human Group Pty Ltd to the bank, and providing $5.4m in gifts to Rosemary Rogers – former chief of staff to two NAB chief executives – to ensure the invoices were paid.

Rogers, who was authorised to approve invoices up to $20m, was convicted and sentenced to a minimum fours years and nine months in prison in January 2021.

The chief of staff to Cameron Clyne and Andrew Thorburn told the jury at Rosamond’s trial she received a house, a BMW car, a boat, holidays among other benefits for approving Rosamond’s fraudulent invoices.

On Tuesday morning 47-year-old Rosamond was led away by corrective service officers, blowing a kiss to supporters, after the Crown’s application to detain her prior to her sentencing, which is scheduled for next year, was granted. She was previously free on bail.

Rosamond was previously permitted to remain on bail while arrangements were made for her teenage son, who was in her care, were formalised with her ex-husband.

“Mr Rosamond has signed consent orders and forwarded them to Ms Rosamond,” her defence barrister Anton Hughes told the court.

She was found guilty of 59 charges of bribing Rogers and 31 charges of obtaining or attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception, after it was found she used the profits from the inflated invoices for her own benefits.

Personal expenses, including $228,747 for an interior designer, $100,000 in rent, $737,611 in landscaping work and $17,888 on an artwork were among the expenses Rosamond charged to NAB.

She was acquitted of one charge giving a corrupt benefit and one charge of obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

On November 28, Judge Robert Sutherland made it clear Rosamond would be spending some time behind bars.

“It would be difficult to conceive of any fraud case of this proportion resulting in other than full-time custody,” Judge Sutherland said.

Rosamond will be sentenced in March.