Homegas accountant jailed for embezzlement [1]
Friday, November 6, 2015 - 18:11
'Afofa Ta’ai (49) was sentenced to prison for two-years six-months for falsification of accounts and embezzling $51,829 pa’anga from his employer Homegas Ltd. on 5 October, at the Nuku’alofa Supreme Court.
Chief Justice O. G. Paulsen said the accused was employed as an accountant between 2008 and his dismissal in 2012.
Homegas is a distributor of gas, including selling gas cylinders to agents in Tongatapu, Ha’apai and Vava’u.
He said Ta’ai was responsible for managing the finances of the company, which included entering details of sales and receipts into a computerized accounting system known as QuickBooks.
In 2011 and 2012, he had approached Homegas agents and asked them to pay him rather than Homegas whereas company procedures required local agents to pay cashiers at Touliki and for agents in the outer islands to pay directly to the company’s Westpac account.
Four agents paid him directly either in cash or through Melie-mei-Langi or Mana money transfers. He kept the money received for his personal use and to hide the embezzlement he applied amounts received from cash sales as payments made by agents (he understated cash sales) and made other false entries in QuickBooks, including recording payments from agents that had not been made, the court heard.
The Chief Justice said it was something that was sooner or later always going to be discovered and he admitted as much in his statement to police.
He was found after an audit by ‘Uta’atu & Associates and they concluded that the sum he embezzled was $51,829.65.
The accused married with six children is a first time offender. He had also negotiated payment of $20,000 pa'anga to Homegas, which is a substantial portion of what he received from agents although, much less than the loss Homegas suffered. At the present time $5,000 had been repaid.
The Chief Justice said in his defense he was told that the accused had committed the crime because he was unable to cope with his financial commitments, including expectations that he contribute to church and community as well as the burden of substantial school and university fees for his children’s education which was around $10,000 a year.
“His conduct requires a strong deterrent message that embezzlement will be regarded by the courts as a very serious offence.”
Ta'ai had initially pleaded not guilty to the two charges which he changed later to guilty.
He received his two-years six-months imprisonment sentence but with the last nine-months suspended on conditions.