THE former CEO of a domestic violence and homelessness organisation has been ordered to pay more than $10,000 in compensation after she gave herself pay rises without authority.
Janet Marjorie McDonald was found to have defrauded Maitland not-for-profit Carrie's Place in 2018 when she approved changes to her pay while she was the boss of the organisation.
McDonald broke down crying after magistrate Kevin Hockey found her guilty of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and sentenced her to a nine-month good behaviour order.
She was handed a criminal conviction and ordered to pay back $10,191.42 to Carrie's Place.
"I can see from your responses that you don't agree with my decision," Mr Hockey told her after delivering judgment on Friday.
He said McDonald had been a person of outstanding character, but did not have the authority to make the changes to her pay that she did.
McDonald fought the charge during a complex day-long hearing in May, which involved several witnesses and bundles of documents.
The court heard McDonald and the governance committee of Carrie's Place had been in negotiations about a pay increase for months when she emailed the organisation's accountants approving a pay rise for herself in March 2018.
McDonald had given evidence at the hearing that she'd spoken on the phone to the organisation's chairperson the month before, who she said agreed to approve back pay as a goodwill gesture while problems with McDonald's contract were sorted out.
The chairperson at the time, Nada Vujat, told the court in her evidence that conversation never happened.
"One would expect that either one or both of them would have referred to and confirmed that conversation in writing by way of an email," Mr Hockey said.
He said it was "interesting and perhaps somewhat confusing" that the email to the accountant had been sent three weeks after the alleged conversation.
Mr Hockey also found McDonald had emailed the accountants in June 2018, when negotiations had "clearly broken down" and while she was off on worker's compensation, and authorised another pay rise.
Mr Hockey said McDonald had given evidence that she had the power to do that because the "governance committee were not carrying out their duties".
She said she had been advised the committee was "incompetent" and that as the next most senior person in line, she had the power to up her own pay.
Mr Hockey found that the committee was still an entity at that time so the steps she took were "clearly not appropriate".
Mr Hockey found a third pay rise McDonald authorised in August that year, after the governance committee was stood down after a vote of no confidence, involved a clear conflict of interest but not an illegal act.
The court heard McDonald's mother had been a founder of Carrie's Place and McDonald had started working there in 2008, before becoming a manager, then the CEO from 2016.
She no longer works for the organisation.
Defence solicitor Natasha Konic handed up character references and reminded the court that McDonald had been a "hard-working person for this organisation for many years".
She said it was McDonald's first time before the court and the fact she had been brought to disrepute was stressful. McDonald was flanked by several supporters in court.
"She's extremely distressed," Ms Konic said.
Mr Hockey said he accepted that McDonald felt that the pay rises she had authorised were appropriate and fair, but that he found she did not have the authority to make the changes in the way she did.
He said her actions had resulted in a "significant over-payment" to her.
McDonald is appealing her conviction and sentence in the Newcastle District Court.
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