A hair salon manager arranged for her clients to deposit their payments into her own account instead of the business’ because she thought she was entitled to it.

Lisa Hermes got 12 clients to do this over a nine-month period after being invited to enter into a business partnership with Scotts the Hair Studio owners and sisters Kay Holt and Robyn Boe in 2016.

Hermes, 45, began working for the company in 2017 but her clients were not supposed to pay her personally. She was charged by police with theft by a person in a special relationship for offending between August 19, 2019, and May 20, 2020.

After negotiations between police and her lawyer, Mark Jepson, she pleaded guilty to a theft totalling $2808 and involving 12 clients.

The money has since been paid back.

Holt, speaking on behalf of the company, read her victim impact statement in the Hamilton District Court yesterday. She said Hermes had not only let them and their clients down over a 2½-year period but also her family, whom they had known for many years and was the reason they trusted her to come into the business.

“That’s the reason we trusted you unconditionally,” Holt said after turning to look Hermes in the eye.

“You’ve let your friends and your family down, Lisa. You’ve shown them that you have offended as a criminal.

“We told you every time that we needed to contribute our own personal money to pay your wages, to pay the suppliers, you knew that.”

Holt, who has been a lawyer for 25 years and is a warranted judicial officer for civil disputes, said that, before going to police, the company gave Hermes the opportunity to return any property she had taken “and just let things lie”, but that didn’t happen.

Her sentencing would now close matters for herself and her family, Holt said.

Jepson replied that Hermes’ offending had been encapsulated in a revised summary of facts over nine months, not 2½ years.

She pleaded guilty to the revised 12 charges in July 2022.

“The victim, I understand, is aggrieved by what occurred but, of course, there are always two sides to a story.

“Ms Hermes was of the belief she was entering into some type of profit-share or partnership with the company and that, over the period of time that she worked with the company, that never eventuated.

“Yet Ms Hermes incurred expenses in the salon that she always thought would either be repaid or at some time she was going to have a portion of the salon or portion of the profit share it wouldn’t matter that she had incurred those expenses.

“But then, after a period of time, whether it can be explained that the relationship soured, Ms Hermes has then taken matters into her own hands and that is the criminal element that we need to discuss today.”

Jepson said Hermes took full responsibility for her actions, had expressed remorse and “she didn’t think of the consequences of her actions at the time”.

“She said it was the dumbest thing she has ever done and had no intention of hurting anyone. She acknowledges taking the money was the wrong thing to do.”

Since then, Hermes had been employed in several hairdressing salons and he pushed for a community-detention sentence that would allow her to continue to work.

Judge Philip Crayton said Hermes had a significant amount of trust placed in her and her offending was repetitive.

“Each of those occasions reflects an intentional or deliberate act of dishonesty.

“It was a wholly inappropriate response to whatever your feelings were about the [victims],” he said.

The judge took into account that Hermes had no criminal history, had the support of her mother and others in the community, and had pleaded guilty. However, he said a sentence was needed that reflected her “conscious” acts of dishonesty.

Hermes was sentenced to two months and two weeks of community detention, with a 10pm-7am curfew, along with nine months’ supervision to ensure she wouldn’t reoffend.

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for nine years and been a journalist for 20.