By Belinda Feek, Open Justice reporter of 
Elizabeth Audrey Donohue, known as Liz, arrives at the Pukekohe District Court with family this afternoon for sentencing on charges relating to the theft of $522k from her former employer. Photo: Belinda Feek / Open Justice
A woman who stole more than half a million dollars from her employer over 14 months has brought the business "to its knees", leaving seven colleagues without a job.
As struggling business owner Michael Anselmi and his team brainstormed ways to cut costs, Elizabeth Audrey Donohue was splashing out on holidays, jewellery, health and beauty procedures, and handing out thousands to family members.
Her theft ultimately crippled Customkit Buildings, meaning Anselmi and his wife Jude were forced to shut it down last November.
The 49-year-old former employee appeared in the Pukekohe District Court today for sentencing on charges of theft by a person in a special relationship and money laundering before Judge John McDonald, who sentenced her to more than there years in prison.
Donohue's former colleague Julie, who helped hire her, labelled her a "common thief ruining years of hard work by other people".
"Make no mistake, your actions have seen Customkit Buildings brought to its knees, with the final blow being the closure of the company and the loss of all our jobs.
"I worked the most closely with you, Elizabeth, and it disgusts me that you could do you what you did.
"Whatever you thought you were, I can assure you that you are no Robin Hood... I hope that whoever gets to make the call on your punishment for your crimes against us all sees everything that you've done ... and realises that you are only sorry that you got caught."
'You knew you wouldn't be caught'
Anselmi said Donohue had "completely destroyed our company financially and left us unable to operate" and left him with no option but to wind it up.
He said she was involved in meetings where the team would brainstorm ways of cutting costs.
"And yet the whole time you were systematically stealing from us... you stole from us in every way that you can think of... all the time being confident that you wouldn't be caught because we trusted you."
Anselmi analysed the accounts himself and discovered her spending on "botox, laser, and nail treatments", payments for family funerals, "huge amounts of jewellery" and her son's tattoos.
'$522,769.41 pocketed by making 58 fake invoices'
Donohue, known as Liz, began working at Customkit, which designed, manufactured, and supplied barn-style residential dwellings, as an office administrator in April 2023.
Her role largely consisted of operating the Xero accounting software and being in charge of invoices and payments.
Invoices were processed individually by Donohue, however, payments left the company accounts in one large batch. The batch payments were approved by Anselmi, but individual details were not reviewed.
Between 23 April 2023 and 20 June 2024, Donohue created 58 invoices for fictitious work or supplies totalling $522,769.41.
The fake invoices related to actual suppliers of goods and services to the business.
After entering them into the system, she would then change the bank account number to a Rabobank account under her name. She used that account to avoid using her own BNZ account which her wages were paid into.
After the payments were made Donohue would then change the account number of the genuine supplier back to their correct bank account.
Donohue made more than $72,000 in payments to Afterpay, $80,000 to PayPal, $19,000 to her son, $16,000 to her partner, $43,000 to Harmony, $35,000 to Webbs Fine Arts, $48,000 to Cash Converters, $20,000 to various health and beauty businesses, and made more than $8000 in cash withdrawals.
Since being charged, Donohue has repaid $54,851.80 and handed over a 9ct gold and diamond pendant.
Arrangements are being made for other jewellery - worth about $171,000 - to be seized.
When questioned by police, Donohue said she had spent it on jewellery, health and beauty procedures, gifts, repaying debt, and holidays.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Paul Watkins said this was not a case of opportunistic theft, rather a "sustained deception against a family owned business".
Elizabeth Donohue in the dock of the Pukekohe District Court this afternoon. Photo: Belinda Feek / Open Justice
'Her remorse is genuine'
Counsel Shane Cassidy urged the judge to give his client credit for co-operation with police and the victim company, both before and after being charged, which led to various items, including jewellery, being handed over.
He also pushed for a guilty plea credit of 25 percent and 5 percent for "what appears to be genuine remorse" and further credit for previous good character.
Cassidy urged the judge to consider a starting point lower than five years.
He also took exception to some of the victims' comments in their statements, submitting that at points they "strayed beyond" the realms of the Victims' Rights Act.
He also opposed NZME's in-court photo application, saying it was not in the public interest.
However, Judge McDonald ultimately allowed photos to be taken, with Cassidy saying he found "the whole process quite ghoulish".
"It's the law, Mr Cassidy," the judge replied, "and they're entitled to do it".
Judge McDonald said Donohue's actions "to all intents and purposes destroyed" the victim's business.
He did not blame Anselmi for not "going through each and every invoice to ensure it was correct" because he trusted her.
He found she was motivated by "greed".
"Pure and simple, so you could live a lifestyle you considered was your right."
Another aggravating factor was the fact she sat around a table with Anselmi and her colleagues to come up with ways to make the company more profitable.
"All the while you know why it was failing because you were stealing all the money."
Donohue told a pre-sentence report writer that she didn't have a reason why she stole the money and said she was "glad she got caught".
He took a starting point of five years prison, allowed 20 percent for her plea, 5 percent for the reparation she had paid so far and jailed her for three years and five months.
* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
