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A Canterbury woman who was sentenced to three years imprisonment last year for defrauding the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) can now be named.

Antoanette Du Preez (52) of Ashburton stole approximately $1 million while she was employed by the health board. Ms Du Preez is currently serving her prison sentence. She was sentenced on 28 October 2020 in the Christchurch District Court on one representative charge of ‘False accounting’ brought by the Serious Fraud Office.

The former CDHB employee directed patients to pay for the treatment they had received by transferring funds to bank accounts she controlled. She also received cash on behalf of patients for their treatment, which she retained for herself. She manipulated the CDHB accounting systems to disguise her offending. The defendant supported her lifestyle, including gambling and paying off debt, with the money she stole over a six-year period.

The Director of the SFO, Julie Read, said, “As a DHB employee, Ms Du Preez abused her position of trust to steal more than $1 million. She identified weaknesses in the accounting system which she exploited. Her offending was long-running, premeditated and highly deceptive.”

ENDS