Thompson v The Queen

Sydney Phillip Thompson and Janlyn Maryanne Duzevich appealed against their sentences of 33 months' imprisonment each, imposed by Judge Andrée Wiltens in the Auckland District Court on 22 July 2015. The sentences were imposed after the appellants pleaded guilty to two representative charges of jointly obtaining money by deception. The appellants argued that Judge Wiltens had erred in not considering the profit forfeiture order made against Mr Thompson, not giving sufficient credit for their guilty pleas, not crediting Mr Thompson's remorse, and treating Ms Duzevich as equally culpable as Mr Thompson.

The court held that the appellants' arguments were without merit. The court found that the reparation achieved through the profit forfeiture order against Mr Thompson was compelled and therefore not voluntary, and as such, it was not appropriate to deduct the forfeited profits when quantifying the net gain achieved by the appellants or the net loss to WINZ. The court also found that there was no fault in Judge Wiltens not taking into account the ability of WINZ to recover loans from fraudulent beneficiaries. The court further held that the guilty plea discount adopted by Judge Wiltens was justified and that Mr Thompson's remorse was not a significant mitigating factor given the magnitude of the offending and the aggravating features present in the case. Finally, the court found that Ms Duzevich was an equal partner in the offending and bore equal responsibility for it.

The applications for extensions of time to appeal were granted, but the appeals against sentence were dismissed.