‘Justice denied’: Judge’s ire over former banker’s delayed fraud trial

The lawyer of a former bank employee has accused the prosecution of “trial by ambush” after he claimed they significantly changed the case against his client at the 11th hour. Sara Daizli allegedly swindled hundreds of thousands of dollars from St George Bank customers between February 2016 and December 2018. Prosecutors allege she siphoned funds into fake accounts created for real bank customers as well as into the bank accounts she created for fictitious customers. The court was told the 32-year-old approached customers and offered to give them a better rate on a loan before “skimming off the top” of their payment without their knowledge. She is also accused of making fraudulent loan applications to both St George and ANZ banks. Prosecutors allege she was depositing cash payments of $10,000 into her bank account during the two years she worked for St George. Ms Daizli has pleaded not guilty to a staggering 120 charges, including dealing with the proceeds of a crime and 108 counts of dishonestly gaining a financial advantage by deception. On Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Mark Hay indicated he would withdraw 33 of the charges against Ms Daizli and lay two additional charges as part of a fresh indictment. The former bank staffer had been set to face trial next week, but her barrister Avni Djemal SC argued the trial should be vacated due to a seismic shift in the allegations against her. He told the court the new indictment claimed Ms Daizli had participated in a joint criminal enterprise to defraud the banks and their customers, when she had previously been charged with having sole liability. “There’s been a foundational change to the crown case,” Mr Djemal said. “It’s a trial by ambush.” He maintained the Crown indictment had “never once” referred to any co-offenders since the matter was elevated to the District Court more than a year ago. Mr Djemal argued there was a “major unfairness” to his client because the prosecution had failed to identify the alleged joint criminal enterprise, or enterprises, in which his client allegedly participated. Mr Hay told the court Ms Daizli appears to have been involved in at least two joint criminal enterprises to defraud customers, and foreshadowed a possible application to pursue separate trials. He argued the new indictment “does not materially change the case against Ms Daizli”, who has “always” been accused of either “pushing the button” or operating the fraud with others. “It changes the circumstances and the background but it does not change the thrust of the case,” the Crown prosecutor said. “(That) Ms Daizli either by herself or with others … engaged in 80 odd fraudulent transactions.” Nevertheless he agreed the “significant changes” to the crown case created some unfairness for Ms Daizli, which he said could be overcome by delaying the start of the trial. Judge Nanette Williams criticised the last minute timing of the new indictment, which was laid six days before the trial, as appearing to show “some kind of dropping of the ball”. “I am concerned about the fairness to the accused,” she said. “It’s almost like things are being done on the run.” The judge found the allegation of a joint criminal enterprise, or enterprises, represented a “very significant change” from the previous indictment. “I am of the view that it is a significant change in the Crown case and the trial date of September 16, which is six days away, is not a feasible date to commence and would cause some unfairness to the accused,” she determined. However, she resisted “deeply unpalatable” suggestions to adjourn the trial to mid-next year and relisted it for October instead. “This matter is not going away,” she warned the parties. “Justice delayed is justice denied – not only for Ms Daizli but for the community”. The court was told one of the main alleged victims is a woman in her 80s who had thousands of dollars transferred out of her account through internet banking, which she had never used. Ms Daizli had befriended the woman and brought her meals and gifts while allegedly funnelling money out of her superannuation account, Mr Hay said. “It’s in (the elderly woman’s) interest to have this matter resolved as soon as possible,” he said. Ms Daizli is also facing civil proceedings brought by Westpac Bank in relation to her alleged fraud.