A trusted Auckland non-profit employee, blamed for causing catastrophic reputational damage after a high-profile investigation into missing funds, was harbouring a secret gambling addiction in which she blew through $6 million at SkyCity Casino. 

Cockle Bay resident Marie Harper, now 76, told an Auckland District Court judge yesterday she couldn’t go to prison because of diabetes and other health issues. 

“Your offending merits a prison sentence,” Judge Andrea Manuel responded, adding that she didn’t think the defendant’s apology to Auckland Rugby League, where she worked 32 years, seemed genuine. 

“Although there was a single victim, Ms Harper, there were many, many more people who were affected,” she said. 

But the judge ultimately agreed a prison sentence, in light of Harper’s health issues and lack of prior criminal offences, was unrealistic. 

Harper was instead ordered to serve 12 months’ home detention, with a special bracelet to be fitted to her wrist rather than her prone-to-swelling ankle. 

Marie Harper stole more than $130,000 from her employer Auckland Rugby League over a nine-year period while harbouring a secret gambling addiction. Photo / Supplied 

Court documents state Harper worked for the organisation, which has provided sporting opportunities for youths and adults for over a century, from 1990 to 2022. 

She started out doing part-time administrative work, but her responsibilities grew through the years. And so did her temptation, documents suggest. 

On 332 occasions between 2013 and 2022, Harper feigned making payments on behalf of the organisation to vendors but instead inserted her own bank account number. In all, she managed to steal $133,709. 

But the financial ramifications went beyond that, Auckland Rugby League officials wrote in a joint victim impact statement. 

The non-profit was forced to spend more than twice what was stolen over multiple internal audits trying to identify the thief among them, the organisation said. In the meantime, three board members were temporarily suspended and the matter was referred to the Serious Fraud Office. 

Harper, still trying to deflect blame from herself, made serious allegations against a former board member. 

Ultimately, Judge Manuel said, it was realised there “was no foundation” in the allegations against the board members. But the damage had already been done, the organisation said, also blaming media coverage of the investigative process. 

Funding has since dropped significantly – beyond, it seems, the normal hard times seen in the community – and Auckland Rugby League is suffering the most challenging financial period in its history, the judge was told. 

She noted rugby league clubs have traditionally catered to working-class families, some of whom the judge characterised as potentially “vulnerable”. 

“They are the real victims,” she said. 

Harper arrived at court yesterday afternoon with $620 in reparations and a commitment to pay $25 per week. At that rate, she’d be dead long before the full amount was close to being paid off, the judge said. 

But with no income other than her pension, that’s all she can afford, defence lawyer Sarah Dickson said. It should have been obvious to SkyCity that Harper was a gambling addict, Dickson said, noting that much of the money spent at the casino over the years came from the defendant’s legitimately earned income. 

“It is perplexing how SkyCity continued to allow Ms Harper to come into their facilities,” Dickson said. “She doesn’t offer her addiction as an excuse, but it is clearly causative of the offending.” 

Since her arrest, Harper has sought help and has recently signed an order that bans her from gaming lounges and SkyCity. Aside from her health issues, Harper sought a community-based sentence so she could continue to be there for her grandchildren, her lawyer said. 

Police prosecutor Izaac Leach emphasised the reputational loss to the organisation, seeking a starting point of 42 to 45 months’ imprisonment – higher than the 30 months sought by the defence. 

Judge Manuel settled on 40 months but allowed 40% in reductions based on Harper’s willingness to attend a restorative justice conference, rehabilitation efforts, prior good character and her guilty plea to one representative charge of obtaining by deception. It brought the sentence down to two years, the limit at which a judge can consider a non-prison alternative. 

“The victim ... had complete confidence and trust in you,” the judge pointed out, describing the missing $133,000 as “the tip of the iceberg” for the troubles she caused her employer. 

“But I can’t ignore your age, your health difficulties and the conclusion in the pre-sentencing reports you are unlikely to reoffend given your work life has come to an end.” 

In addition to the home detention sentence, the judge ordered Harper to pay $10,000 in restitution. A requirement to pay the full amount, she said, would be unrealistic. 

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.