The former bookkeeper of NSW South Coast pro-surfer siblings Tyler, Owen and Mikey Wright has been charged with embezzling more than $1.5 million of their funds over a 10-year period.
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Facing 749 charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception, Vincentia accountant Shane Maree Hatton, 53, appeared in Nowra Local Court on Monday, April 26.
The matter was adjourned and Ms Hatton will return to Nowra Local Court for brief service orders on June 21.
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Police will allege Ms Hatton defrauded the Wright siblings, of Culburra, and their family by misappropriating funds from several accounts while she was the bookkeeper contracted to manage their finances.
It is alleged the embezzlements occurred between 2010 and 2019, from multiple accounts owned among the Wright family.
It is alleged Ms Hatton misappropriated funds by cashing in pre-signed cheques and depositing money into an account in her own name, and via electronic bank transfers.
Originally managing the accounts of the family's plumbing business R & F Wright's Plumbing, Ms Hatton went on to manage the books of the Wright siblings when they became champion surfers.
Strikeforce detectives arrested Ms Hatton at her Vincentia home on Wednesday, March 31.
Shortly after, a search warrant was executed by officers who seized electronic devices and documents for forensic examination. Ms Hatton was taken to Nowra police station where she was charged.
