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A mother of nine who ruthlessly
exploited her stepchildren to swindle the accident compensation system has
been sentenced to almost three years jail. In the Christchurch District
Court, Jullie Adel Francis Saddleton-Dale was found guilty by a jury after a
three-week trial on 177 counts of using a document for pecuniary advantage,
eight of forgery and three of making false declarations. She also admitted eight further
counts of using documents for pecuniary advantage. Passing sentence of two years nine
months jail, Judge Phil Moran said Saddleton-Dale, 45, made a series of bogus
claims for home help, getting her two stepdaughters to create invoices to
substantiate them and help with false declarations. "Over eight years, you bilked
ACC of a sum in the order of $80,000 by making false claims for provident
care," he said. "It is a sad aggravating
factor that you enticed the help of your stepchildren to perpetuate the
frauds and you turned on them at trial. In the end, it seems you would stop
at nothing -- forgery, false declarations, and attacking those who told the
truth to the jury," the judge said. "You went after ACC
determined to screw out of them every dollar you could get. You are
manipulative and unscrupulous." Starting in April 1994,
Saddleton-Dale claimed accident compensation for occupational overuse
syndrome and fibromyalgic pain syndrome. She repeatedly made bogus claims
for home help, claiming money for work her stepdaughters had supposedly done.
One stepdaughter had made three
false declarations at her behest, and Saddleton- Dale had personally made
two. Eight times she forged their signatures on claim forms, telling
"blatant lies" to conceal her true level of entitlement.
Interviewed in October 2001, Saddleton-Dale made a statutory declaration that
all work claimed for had been done and the providers paid, "another
blatant lie," the judge said. Prosecutor Karyn South said right
from the start, Saddleton-Dale acted with high premeditation and deliberate
deceit to repeatedly submit false claim forms for work never done. After a
review, she went on to make further fraudulent claims, and even wrote
threatening letters to ACC. They had done everything to help
her. It was not a case of ACC turning a blind eye, but a difficult client
motivated by fraudulent intent. Her involvement of innocent parties was a
serious aggravating factor. Counsel Raoul Neave said the Crown
never denied she suffered from legitimate complaints and was entitled to some
compensation, but clearly Saddleton-Dale had fallen short of obligations. She
had not had an easy life, and one of her children, who was disabled, needed
surgery. The judge said mitigating factors
were almost nil, except for significant personal matters, including that she
had her youngest five children still with her. Her circumstances merited
leniency, but not to the point of avoiding jail. He saw "precious little"
remorse. Ordering reparation would be pointless, and in light of the sentence
$1910 of fines would be remitted. |
