Some families missed out on Red Cross donations after the Christchurch earthquakes because Donna Marie Nicola Paish had already used their names and addresses to claim hardship grants.
The 40-year-old, also known as Nikita Victoria Burns, admitted 11 fraud charges in the Christchurch District Court yesterday.
After the September 4, 2010, and February 22, 2011, earthquakes, people in the Christchurch community were able to apply for grants from the New Zealand Red Cross of up to $3000.
The money was for residents who had to leave their homes, or endure living without power, water and sewerage in their quake-damaged addresses.
The police summary of facts says that between December 17, 2010, and March 28, 2011, using seven different names and nine different addresses, Paish received $17,000 from the Red Cross.
Four of the grants were for $3000, five for $1000, and two were not approved.
The police said that the actual occupants of the addresses were later declined grants because of her fraudulent applications.
Paish was already due to be sentenced on February 17 for other fraud offending, so Judge Brooke Gibson remanded her on bail to the same date for all matters to be dealt with together.
He asked for an updated pre-sentence report to help the judge at the sentencing.
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