'Fanatical devotion': Queensland bodybuilder stole $200,000 from Woolworths
A Woolworths payroll clerk come professional bodybuilder has been sentenced to five years behind bars after stealing over $200,000 from the retail giant.
Melissa Yates was reportedly ‘caught out’ in October last year attempting to steal an additional $400,000, News Corp reports.
Yates had reportedly planned merely days after the attempted theft to fly the US to represent Australia in an international bodybuilding competition.
On Tuesday Yates, 37, fronted Brisbane District Court where her counsel, Ben Power, told the court she had developed an “almost fanatical devotion” to the sport.
The competition she planned to represent Australia in was to be held in Las Vegas, however she was arrested two weeks prior to her departure.
During the proceedings prosecutor Russell Hood said Yates made it appear the retail giant was transferring money into the accounts of former employees, however the funds were reportedly being wired into her own account.
Hood stated that Yates used her in-depth knowledge of Woolworths payroll system to siphon money, however she was caught out after making a minor error.
The courtroom heard Yates might have made off with the $640,000 if she had not made a small administrative mistake that saw her forget to ‘lock’ a document.
“If she hadn’t have made that mistake (the entire $640,000 fraud) wouldn’t have been detected,” Mr Hood said according to News Corp.
“[She] had booked flights, she had loaded up her credit cards, there was a rapid escalation in the attempts to siphon off money from the company,” Mr Hood said.
“She wanted to extract as much funds as possible before fleeing the jurisdiction.”
“There was a clear intent to leave the country.”
Yates pleaded guilty to defrauding Woolworths of $238,294 and attempting to defraud between $344,000 and $404,000 between April and October in 2015.
Hood claimed Yates “burned through” $100,000 by spending it within the first six months.
She spent approximately $60,000 on various “luxury items” for herself and family members while living in the US in 2014.
Yates has not repaid any of the money that she stole however $135,000 is sitting in accounts ready to be repaid.
Judge Brian Devereaux sentenced Yates to five years behind bars with parole in 18 months.
