Betty Sio (right) of Auckland was awarded the Queen's Service Order for services to the Pacific Community at Government House in April 2011. Photo: Supplied / Government House
The former head of a domestic violence prevention charity has been fined $3000 after being found guilty of fraud.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said Betty Sio was the former head of the Pacific Island Safety and Prevention Project, which provided services such as counselling, education and development services to the Pacific Island community in Auckland.
Sio helped to establish the charity and was the chief executive from 2009 until 2015.
By 2014, the charity was receiving about $2.5 million in government funding every year to provide domestic violence prevention services.
Sio and former operations manager Tapualii Raewyn Uitime were largely responsible for managing the use of this funding, the SFO said.
The pair created fake invoices, authorised cash cheques to pay them and cashed most of the cheques themselves.
In March, Sio, who stole about $44,000, was found guilty on two charges of dishonestly using a document.
In July 2020, Uitime pleaded guilty to three charges of forgery and six representative charges of dishonestly using a document.
The SFO said she stole $216,000 and was sentenced in October 2020 to two years and one month of imprisonment.
SFO director Karen Chang said fraud which targeted or disproportionately harmed a particularly vulnerable community or group was a focus area for the organisation.
SFO director Karen Chang Photo: Supplied / Serious Fraud Office
"Instead of using the funding given to the charity to make a difference to the lives of her community, Sio abused her position of trust and responsibility to steal $44,000.
"She also turned a blind eye to Ms Uitime."
Chang said fraud was destabilising to the country's social fabric, and damaged trust in community leadership and institutions.
"Misappropriating government funding can also further exacerbate an issue and undermine government efforts.
"In this case, the actions of Ms Sio and Ms Uitime ultimately contributed to the closure of an organisation which had been recognised as providing a valuable and important service to its community."
