A former MyState Bank teller has received a suspended prison sentence after admitting to stealing more than $22,000 from her employer over a three-month period.
Rhiannon Kate Smith, 26, pleaded guilty to 12 fraud charges.
Supreme Court Justice Helen Wood sentenced her to five months’ imprisonment, fully suspended for two years.
The court heard Smith exploited a loophole in the bank’s coin-deposit system while working at the Glenorchy branch in late 2023.
Customers using the coin machine were given a receipt that did not identify them by name.
Smith would process their deposits correctly, then hide the receipts under her desk, mouse pad or in her jacket pocket.
She later presented the receipts as her own and had the money deposited into her personal accounts.
The offending occurred between September and November 2023, with individual deposits ranging from $1,200 to $2,850.
Much of her conduct was captured on the bank’s internal CCTV cameras.
Justice Wood said Smith’s actions represented a serious breach of trust, noting the behaviour was not a one-off but repeated over several months.
“She did not desist of her own initiative,” she said.
At the time, Smith was 24 and struggling with debt, including Afterpay and personal loans.
When first interviewed by police, she admitted to only one of the 12 offences.
Justice Wood accepted Smith’s remorse was genuine.
“I expect you are someone who is most unlikely to reoffend,” she said.
The court also heard Smith had no prior convictions, pleaded guilty at an early stage and was now caring for a young baby while experiencing postnatal depression.
However, Justice Wood said the sentence still needed to deter others in trusted positions from committing similar crimes.
Smith was ordered to repay the full $22,173.95 to MyState Bank.
She has since secured work as a support worker and is expected to keep her job despite the convictions.
Justice Wood warned Smith she would be brought back to court and could face jail if she reoffended during the two-year suspension period.
