Pictured: Kristi Anne Barden, 46
The full extent of a serial fraudster’s extraordinary crime series has been revealed – after the mother of two was beaten with a four-year sentence for stealing more than $178,000 from her bosses.
Kristi Anne Barden, of Perth, billed her employer — an environmental advisory group called Strategists — for luxury vacations and a rental car, and kept a company laptop even after she was fired.
Her fraud campaign was carried out over a period of two and a half years – between 2017 and 2020 – before she was finally caught.
The self-proclaimed ‘functioning alcoholic’ pleaded guilty to one charge of theft and 47 counts of fraud in Western Australia District Court on June 23.
According to court documents seen by Daily Mail Australia, the 46-year-old was working as a senior administrator when she began falsifying invoices by swapping the company’s bank details with hers.
In 2019, she claimed two stays at Seaspray Beach Holiday Park worth more than $3,000 combined, a $2,800 stay at Redgum Village Dandaragan, both in regional WA — despite no fieldwork taking place on the dates of her vacations.
The following year, she claimed a stay at the five-star COMO The Treasury in Perth — valued at over $2,700 — as a work-related expense.
Barden claimed multiple vacations as work expenses, including a stay at the luxurious COMO The Treasury (pictured) in Perth
Despite billing for her stay at COMO The Treasury (pictured), her employer had no fieldwork data on the dates in her bills
Barden rented a Mitsubishi ASX from Thrifty under her employer’s name, although she was not authorized to do so, and kept the car for a year after she was fired in October 2020.
The car was reported stolen after Strategist received a $28,000 bill for the rent – but when Thrifty contacted her, Barden said she had nothing to do with the vehicle since she was fired.
It was found a month later, in February 2021, abandoned with a smashed window – when police attended to the vehicle, Barden approached them and asked if she could retrieve her sunglasses from inside.
She lied, telling offices she could keep the car as part of her severance package, and gave the keys to the police.
When investigators raided her home in Perth, they found an HP laptop belonging to her employer, which she was not allowed to keep after she was forced to leave the company.
Barden was arrested last May and charged with siphoning a total of $178,107.03 from Strategists.
Her lawyer Roisin Keating told the court that Barden describes himself as a “functioning alcoholic” who took painkillers and drank two bottles of wine every night to work through the trauma of an abusive relationship.
Barden rented a Mitsubishi ASX from Thrifty (stock image) under her employer’s name, despite not being authorized to do so
The Mitsubishi ASX (stock image) was reported stolen after Strategists were billed $28,000 for rent
“In the months leading up to this crime, Ms. Barden had entered into a relationship that was sadly marred by violence and psychological abuse,” Ms Keating said in court on June 23.
“That relationship ended in 2018, but when it did, Your Honor, as I said, Mrs. Barden was left with significant debts.”
Barden, who has served time in prison for similar offenses in 2010 and 2013, knew her actions were wrong, but thought, “I’m not going to get away with this, I’ll just do it while I can,” Barden said. to Mrs. Keating.
During her sentencing, Judge Wendy Gillan said the defendant “referred to the crime to relieve feelings of stress and, according to statements made today, also debt.”
The judge also outlined Barden’s complex upbringing and the adversities she endured in her early adult life — growing up in a strict and religious household, being home-schooled, and having very few friends as a result.
She left home as a young adult to live with her grandparents and is still rebuilding her relationship with her immediate family.
At the age of 18, Barden had a car accident so serious that she had to relearn to walk and talk, but that left her with chronic back problems.
Her first husband died in a horrific incident, which left her with post-traumatic stress disorder.
When police raided her home, they found an HP laptop (stock image) that belonged to her employer
Although she and her second husband broke up, they have two teenagers together and maintain a good relationship.
Barden never lost custody of her children, but the court heard that she was constantly defrauding her employer to take care of them.
Judge Gillan accepted Barden’s regrets for her two-year fraud campaign, but wondered how much regret she might have, given her criminal record.
“Presumably she also regretted that violation,” the judge said.
“So her repentance, even if I accept that she repents and I’m more than happy to accept that she repents, but how far does that go in mitigation?”
Judge Gillan told Barden that her crimes involved “significant dishonesty” and that she abused her position of trust within the company.
“You run a real risk of reoffending because you’ve intervened psychologically in the past, and that didn’t deter you this time,” she said.
“But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to handle your issues in the future, but you’ll have to do that before you could — I really could have found that you weren’t at risk of further offending in the future.” ‘
Barden hopes to be able to return to work after her release from prison, but plans to seek “minor employment” – where she would not be responsible for finance or accounting.