“He acknowledges the very stupid mistake he made.”


But there are some mitigating circumstances, he argued.


Al Gailani worked for a Unichem branch in Silverdale for seven years when he started transferring money to his personal account in August 2022.


Court documents show he “recklessly” filled out a form to receive government money, listing his personal bank account instead of the pharmacy’s.





He then received payments totaling $49,343 over the next twelve months, with deposits ranging from $15 to more than $8,000 at a time.



Pharmacist Murad Al Gailani has pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $50,000 from an Auckland Unichem company. He asked to be discharged without conviction, arguing that a criminal record would hinder his career prospects in Australia. Photo / supplied
Pharmacist Murad Al Gailani has pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $50,000 from an Auckland Unichem company. He asked to be discharged without conviction, arguing that a criminal record would hinder his career prospects in Australia. Photo / supplied


“When the pharmacy eventually uncovered the fraud, the defendant admitted to receiving the money and subsequently reimbursed it,” according to court documents. “He said the form asked for personal pharmacist details as well as pharmacy details.


“He said that after he saw the money being transferred to his account he assumed it was for the payment of a Covid doctor.”


Al Gailani then went to work in Australia in March 2023.


His lawyer said at the hearing late last month that his Australian employer was aware of Al Gailani’s predicament and initially supported him.


But the company has since come under new ownership and the defendant was told a week before the hearing that he was no longer wanted for work “following a review of recent developments in New Zealand”.


Al Gailani has shown clear remorse and paid back the company before he was charged with a crime, his lawyer said. He cooperated in both the employer investigation and the police investigation that followed. And he was considered to have rather good character.


Since the theft, he has undergone a course on ethical pharmacy practices to ensure that “this type of behavior is not repeated in the future,” Mugisho said, noting that Al Gailani has a good reputation in his current community, where he volunteers commitment to the local community. fire brigade.


All these factors reduce the overall severity of his offense to a low level, Mugisho argued. The consequences, meanwhile, could have a major effect on his life abroad.


Al Gailani planned to challenge his latest job loss if he were dismissed without conviction, his lawyer said.






Pharmacist Murad Al Gailani has pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $50,000 from an Auckland Unichem company. He asked to be discharged without conviction, arguing that a criminal record would hinder his career prospects in Australia. Photo / supplied
Pharmacist Murad Al Gailani has pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $50,000 from an Auckland Unichem company. He asked to be discharged without conviction, arguing that a criminal record would hinder his career prospects in Australia. Photo / supplied


A conviction on his record could also make it more difficult to travel to pharmacy industry conferences in the future, he said.


“What he’s asking for is basically an opportunity from this court to see if he can continue his career (in Australia) without all these hurdles,” he said.


Police opposed the dismissal without conviction application, noting the seriousness of the offense and that it “was not a one-off error” – the result of sixteen separate transactions over the course of a year.


While there will be serious consequences for him, they are not out of proportion to the crime, the prosecutor argued.


Judge Anna Fitzgibbon agreed.


“It wasn’t that sophisticated, but you had 16 options to correct your actions,” she said. “You did nothing to rectify the situation.”





It may take some effort to find another job in his field, but that would be a normal consequence of a conviction and part of the deterrent effect of a sentence, she said.


The judge ordered him to return to court in February to decide his sentence.


She noted that his Australian visa could be revoked if he is jailed for more than a year. But in this case, a prison sentence is unlikely, she added.


Al Gailani has pleaded guilty to a representative charge of obtaining by deception, which carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years.


Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported for courts in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand since 2002.


Subscribe to The Daily Ha free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.






Sitemap of ajtwnfxpdv.medipunto.ru

Cannabis News RSS Feeds: Weedrss.com

1000+ unique media and news posts every 24 hours…

Published 2 hours ago
Published 7 hours ago
Published 13 hours ago
Published 16 hours ago
Published 17 hours ago
Published 17 hours ago
Published 20 hours ago
Published 21 hours ago
Published 21 hours ago
Published 21 hours ago
Published 22 hours ago