A former executive assistant at Canterbury dairy company Synlait has admitted misusing nearly $40,000 from the company's employee social club after gaining sole control of its finances.
According to a report by Stuff, Debra Anne Winders, 51, appeared in the Christchurch District Court on Monday, where she pleaded guilty to three representative charges, including two counts of accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose and one count of using a document for pecuniary advantage.
Winders worked for Synlait between 2019 and 2025 and became involved with the Synlait Dunsandel Social Club shortly after joining the company. She served as the club’s secretary from 2020 before being appointed chairperson in 2021.
The social club, which has more than 300 employee members across Synlait’s Dunsandel and Christchurch offices, operates independently and is funded through member subscriptions and company contributions. Its finances were intended to be overseen by a treasurer, with all payments requiring approval from two authorised signatories, Stuff has reported.
However, court documents revealed that in June 2023, Winders altered the authorisation requirements on the club’s two ANZ bank accounts. After another signatory left the company, she became the sole person with access to the accounts and full control over the club’s finances, as reported by Stuff.
According to Stuff, the fraud remained undetected until March 2025, when Winders left both Synlait and the social club. A new treasurer reviewing the accounts discovered more than 300 unauthorised debit card transactions and several irregular online payments.
According to Stuff, the investigators found that between 2022 and 2025, Winders spent $39,692 of social club funds on personal expenses, including beauty treatments, alcohol, restaurant bills, fuel, supermarket purchases, retail shopping and veterinary services. She failed to provide receipts or disclose the expenditure to the club.
She also established automatic online payments using the club’s banking accounts to a range of businesses and service providers, including Sky TV, Spark, Afterpay, Elgas Limited, Powershop, Woolworths/Countdown, Escape Artist, EventHire, Christchurch Adventure Park, Uber and Parkmate, as reported by Stuff.
When interviewed by police, Winders declined to answer questions. However, in a recorded interview, she acknowledged that the social club’s debit card had been used to buy vouchers from liquor stores, supermarkets, petrol stations and Mitre 10.
“The card was also given to other committee members to purchase vouchers,” the facts record. “The vouchers were valued at $50 or more and were approved by the social club committee. No receipts were produced,” as quoted by Stuff.
In response to the case, Synlait’s director of safety, people and culture, Steph Manning, said the theft had a significant impact because the funds belonged to employees.
"The fact the funds stolen were collected from Synlait's employees makes this theft particularly upsetting. Thankfully the company reimbursed the social club so it has been able to continue its great work for our people," as quoted by Stuff.
Manning noted that while the social club operated separately from Synlait, the organisation maintained a strict stance against misconduct and fraud.
“The club’s committee discovered and reported the theft as soon as the offender left her role, and has made changes to ensure this can never happen again,” Stuff has quoted.
Stuff reported that Winders, who has no prior criminal convictions, was convicted and granted bail by Judge Mark Callaghan. She is scheduled to be sentenced in December.