Mother of seven Lana Saunders stole nearly $7,000 from grandmother; cart used in shoplifting

A woman who stole almost $7000 from her 85-year-old grandmother to buy drugs and pay off debts admits it was wrong but said it was “easy money”.

Lana Maree Saunders, her partner and their six children moved back from Australia and into her grandmother’s house in 2020.

The 32-year-old’s offending scam began when she asked to borrow some money and her grandmother handed over her Eftpos card and pin. Saunder continued to use the card several times after that to buy nearly $7,000 worth of items and also used his car as collateral.

But her crimes did not end there. While on bail, she shoplifted from several stores, all with a child in tow.

Saunders, who has a history of dishonesty offences, tried to play down his behavior when he appeared in the Nelson District Court this week, suggesting that “other family members” had taken them from his grandmother and that what she had taken was “probably the smallest. “.

Her sentencing presented itself as a challenge because it had to reflect the “serious breach of trust” without endangering her children, who all depend on her.

“If today is not a turning point in your life, then tomorrow must be,” Judge Jo Rielly told Saunders.

“Easy Money”

When Saunders first asked her grandmother for $50 in cash, she offered to pay him back. Because it was night, grandma handed over her Eftpos card and personal identification number.

Between February 8 and March 15, 2021, Saunders used the card nine times to purchase $6,900 worth of items, all without the grandmother’s permission.

Judge Rielly said Saunders had made no effort to repay the money.

Her lawyer, Ian Miller, said the money was used to buy methamphetamine and cover existing debts.

On September 21, she and her partner used her grandmother’s vehicle as collateral to raise more than $3,000 in financing from a loan company.

Saunders said she had power of attorney over her grandmother’s affairs when she did not, Judge Rielly said.

She added that the signatures on the documents were forged and therefore Saunders was lucky not to face further charges related to that.

In February and March this year, while Saunders was on bail, she went on a spree of burglaries, each time pushing a child in a pram.

Saunders stole $120 worth of clothing from Farmers, $142 in art supplies from Paper Plus in Nelson, $499 in items from a Farmlands store in Richmond plus $100 in stationery and ornaments from the Hello Banana variety store in Nelson.

Judge Rielly said an aggravating feature of the shoplifting was that Saunders had a young child with her on each occasion.

She noted that Saunders now has seven children with a new baby arriving this year.

“We do not underestimate how difficult it must be to raise seven children,” Judge Rielly said.

However, she told Saunders she owed them to improve her lifestyle.

“It seems to me that you have gone down a path of dishonest behaviour, perhaps during times of stress,” Judge Rielly said.

She said Saunders’ offending meant prison was a sentencing option, but her grandmother, who was “very upset” by what had happened, did not want that and it would not benefit the seven children.

“The court is deadlocked on how to sentence you. If they sentence you to house arrest, that will also have a negative impact on your children’s lives.”

Judge Rielly sentenced her to six months in the community with 18 months of intensive supervision on charges of theft by using a document, four counts of shoplifting and one count of breaching supervision. She also made a $6900 reparation order to formalize Saunders’ agreement to repay his grandmother.

She was also placed on court monitoring and warned that if she did not comply she would have to be recalled for sentencing, at which point prison was the likely outcome.

“From now on, every decision you make must be honest and have a positive influence on your children,” Judge Rielly said.

-This story originally appeared in New Zealand Herald.