Jury finds Leena Maree Anderson not guilty of all counts in $100,000 cash stealing case

A Tasmanian woman accused of siphoning $100,000 from her then-partner’s bank account more than a decade ago has been acquitted of all charges by a Supreme Court jury.

Leena Maree Anderson, 56, has pleaded not guilty to nine counts of stealing, after she allegedly accessed the bank account of her then-partner, Craig Moon, from October 2012 to January 2013, without his knowledge or permission. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

A Tasmanian woman accused of siphoning $100,000 from her then-partner’s bank account more than a decade ago has been acquitted of all charges by a Supreme Court jury.

Leena Maree Anderson, 56, had pleaded not guilty to nine counts of stealing, following allegations she accessed the MyState account of her then-partner, Craig Moon, on multiple occasions from October 2012 to January 2013, without his knowledge or permission.

Giving evidence during the trial, Ms Anderson admitted she had made each of the nine cash withdrawals - including one in the amount of $25,000 - but said Mr Moon not only authorised the transactions, but specified the amounts.

“It was under his specific request,” Ms Anderson said.

“The numbers that he actually asked for weren’t relevant to me. It was his money”.

Ms Anderson said that after each withdrawal, she handed the proceeds to Mr Moon, who had requested money for the intended or actual purchase of items including boats, vehicles, and jewellery.

Ms Anderson told the court that after Mr Moon severely assaulted her in December 2015, she sought refuge in a women’s shelter, where he made contact by telephone seeking reconciliation.

After telling Mr Moon that he would never see her again, Ms Anderson said her now ex-lover vowed to “pay me back” for the rejection.

Mr Moon told the court that although he recalled signing a form allowing the accused to access his bank account, the permission had been granted on the understanding that Ms Anderson would collect his regular disability pension payments on his behalf.

Mr Moon testified that he did not know until 2016 - after his split from Ms Anderson - that a $100,000 total permanent disability insurance payout had been deposited into his bank account in 2012, or that regular cash withdrawals had been made soon afterwards.

During his closing address to the jury, Crown prosecutor Ian Arendt, told jury members they could be satisfied with Mr Moon’s evidence that he did not know about $100,000 insurance payout, that he had authorised or have any knowledge of the cash withdrawals from his bank account, and had never received any cash from Ms Anderson.

But defence lawyer Greg Richardson said Mr Moon was both a liar and a perjurer, whose contact with bank and superannuation staff following his relationship breakdown were not genuine financial enquiries, but a pretext to report Ms Anderson to police.

In summing up the case for jury members, Justice Helen Wood said they may only convict Ms Anderson on any charge if they were satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the evidence given by Mr Moon at trial was both honest and reliable.

After deliberating for several hours on Monday, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all nine counts.

Originally published as Jury finds Leena Maree Anderson not guilty of all counts in $100,000 cash stealing case