Faith Fruean betrayed the trust of two Samoan relatives she helped immigrate to New Zealand for work when she set up bank accounts, credit cards and personal loans in their names, spending their wages on overseas holidays and flashy possessions to appear successful. 

But the Marton woman managed to escaped prison by “a narrow margin” this week and was instead sentenced to 12 months’ home detention on a raft of dishonesty charges after she obtained $130,718 from the two young men without their knowledge. 

“You exploited them and the trust each of them placed in you and I find that the breach of trust is significant,” Judge Justin Marinovich told her during sentencing in the Whanganui District Court on Wednesday. 

“I have no doubt you and your husband worked in concert to make sure you obtained and bled every cent out of the victims you could.” 

Intent on getting money 

Fruean’s offending began in November 2015 when the first victim, Tautai Solomona, arrived in Marton to live with his cousin Ben Fruean and his wife Faith. 

According to Judge Marinovich, the couple got the shy 21-year-old - who didn’t speak English - a job with their employer, Anzco meatworks, and Fruean took Solomona to ASB Bank in Palmerston North to open an account for his wages to be deposited. 

Acting as translator she set up the account in Solomona’s name but supplied her mobile number and email address and retained the associated eftpos card with a PIN she created. 

At the same time and unknown to Solomona, Fruean had him sign an application for a personal loan of $20,000 and the money was advanced to his account, which she also had internet banking access to. 

Fruean made three transfers over two weeks totalling $17,906 from Solomona’s account to hers. 

Three months later, in February 2016, Fruean rang the bank and said her “brother” wanted to top-up his loan for “personal expenses” and an extra $5000 was approved. 

Within nine days Fruean had made two transfers totalling $4000 out of Solomona’s account. 

In April that year Fruean organised another top-up of the loan, getting $5372 under the pretext Solomona’s parents were visiting from Samoa and he wanted to take them on holiday. 

The day after the money went into Solomona’s account, Fruean transferred $5090 out. 

The judge said Faith Fruean's scam held a degree of premeditation because she set up the bank accounts when an employer could have and she controlled the bank's contact with the account holders. Photo / Facebook 

Two other applications she made in Solomona’s name for credit cards in April and May 2017 with limits of $1500 and $3000 were unsuccessful. 

“There it shows the extent to which you were trying to obtain money,” Judge Marinovich said. 

Fruean’s next credit card application in Solomona’s name on June 30, 2017, was successful and she obtained a $2000 limit. 

At her trial, the jury heard a call by Fruean to the bank applying for more money, with Ben Fruean pretending to be Solomona. 

Another credit card application in July that year was declined and another personal loan application for $5000 in June 2018 was also declined. 

In total, Fruean took at least $70,000 from Solomona’s account between November 2015 and September 2018. 

The Crown said he ended up $86,729 out of pocket despite earning up to $1000 a week during that time. 

Solomona discovered he had nothing to show for almost three years of work when he moved out in late 2018 and could not put any money towards his wedding. 

Nothing to show for years of work 

Fruean committed similar offending against her husband’s second cousin, Ransom Fruean, who was 20 when he immigrated from Samoa to live and work with the couple in 2016. 

Fruean set up Ransom’s bank account, retained control of it, applied for numerous credit cards and personal loans in his name and transferred large amounts of money out of his account. 

Loan applications for $20,000 and $11,000 were declined but one for $7000 to “urgently attend his grandfather’s funeral in Samoa” was approved, and another for $7000 involving someone pretending to be Ransom on the phone with bank staff to authorise the application was also approved. 

She transferred $27,652 from his account over two years and in total the Crown believed Ransom was out of pocket $43,988, including debts that ASB wrote off. 

In victim impact statements Solomona said his trust in Fruean was misplaced. 

“I now feel totally betrayed by Faith, her husband Ben and Ben’s father in Samoa. 

“They are relatives of mine but unbeknown to me my total income and all spending and borrowing was deliberately controlled by Faith for almost three years.” 

Solomona was harassed every week by debt recovery companies and he was concerned the financial abuse had impacted his credit rating. 

Instead of his earnings being sent to his father in Samoa, they were essentially sent to other people’s families. 

“His inability to save for his own future has been impacted on,” Judge Marinovich said. 

“You see Ms Fruean, you may have been able to hold yourself up on a pedestal to your family, you and your husband being able to say to his family you are successful and you have done well in New Zealand and they should be proud of you. 

“But you took that opportunity away from Tautai Solomona and Ransom Fruean.” 

Ransom described in his victim impact statement how unhappy and hurt he felt when he found out about the deceit. 

“He talks about how he had an emotional breakdown and how he was sinking, how he was going to pay back the debt you had incurred,” the judge said. 

Ransom was angry at the lies Fruean and Ben told him and that he couldn’t send money to his family. 

Day of reckoning for Fruean 

Judge Marinovich said Fruean not only benefited financially but also in allowing her extended family to believe the couple were doing well in New Zealand. 

“You did this by exhibiting success through physical possessions such as cars, overseas trips, bringing your family on holiday and sending money to your husband’s family. 

“This was all to the detriment of the victims. Their families missed out.” 

The court heard Fruean tried to play the victim in a pre-sentence report, stating she’d been unable to eat and sleep because of the stress of the situation. 

“I have no doubt that was a result firstly of the fact you were convicted of the offending and secondly you hadn’t let your family know about it,” Judge Marinovich said. 

Fruean was earlier convicted of eight charges of obtaining by deception and seven charges of using a document after being found guilty at trial. 

Her sentencing in November had to be adjourned because she had not told her family of the convictions, hoping for supervision because electronic monitoring would be embarrassing. 

Aggravating factors included the breach of trust, the vulnerability of the victims, premeditation, the amount obtained, the length of time of the offending and the impact on the victims. 

Judge Marinovich said while Fruean showed remorse in the report, she tried to deflect some of her conduct, suggesting it was “Samoan cultural norm”. 

He adopted a starting point of 30 months and gave Fruean discounts for previous good character; remorse and that $19,500 had already been paid back; a small “degree of pressure” from her husband who he said seemed complicit in the offending; and because she was the breadwinner, a mother to young children and that she was looking after her unwell mother. 

The end sentence of 24 months was commuted to the maximum allowance of home detention, 12 months. 

The sentence would denounce her conduct and deter Fruean from offending again while allowing her to pay the victims back, the judge said. 

He ordered reparation of $20,000 be paid to Solomona and $10,000 to Ransom at $50 each per week, starting with $1000 that day. 

Judge Marinovich said full reparation was unrealistic. 

Natalie Akoorie is a senior reporter based in Waikato and covering crime and justice nationally. Natalie first joined the Herald in 2011 and has been a journalist in New Zealand and overseas for 28 years, more recently covering health, social issues, local government, and the regions.