Cassie Sainsbury (pictured) has been accused of skimming more than $3000 from a small regional tennis club in 2015
Cassie Sainsbury has been accused of stealing more than $2,000 from a tiny local tennis club, where she acted as secretary and treasurer.
The 22-year-old, who is facing charges of drug trafficking in Columbia, allegedly made 18 direct transfers from the accounts of the Coobowie Tennis Club to her own account over two months before she was sacked from her role.
A club spokesman named Mark told Radio FiveAA Sainsbury had been relieved of her role because vendors were not being paid, and it was not until some time later that they learned of her skimming.
It is alleged the amounts taken were small, ranging from $55 to $502, and on some days, multiple transactions were made, The Advertiser reported.
Sainsbury did repay some money in between transactions, an affidavit provided to police alleged.
The document claimed she stole a total of $3167 in total, but allegedly repaid $1160 – leaving radio hosts David and Will to suggest ‘she used the club as her personal ATM’.
Mark, a spokesperson from the Coobowie Tennis Club (pictured), who filed an affidavit to police accusing her of stealing, said the funds taken represented 60 per cent of the club’s money
Club spokesman Mark said the amount which was allegedly stolen represented 60 per cent of the tennis club’s money.
The missing money was only discovered earlier this year, when the club began an application for a grant to get the courts resurfaced.
Mark remained quiet about Sainsbury’s alleged involvement despite her high profile, but said he felt compelled to tell his story when he heard the accused drug trafficker was asking for a taxpayer funded legal defence.
‘It got to the point where it’s eating me, hearing she’s asking for Australian taxpayers to chip in for lawyers and court fees,’ he said.
Sainsbury was arrested after officials at the El-Dorado Airport found 5.8 kilograms of cocaine in 18 headphone cases the Adelaide woman was allegedly trying to bring back to Australia.
If she is found guilty of drug-trafficking, she faces up to 30 years behind bars.
Pictured: The affidavit which claims Sainsbury skimmed money from the tennis club during her time as treasurer
Sainsbury was arrested when Colombian officials found 5.8 kilograms of cocaine inside 18 headphone cases she was allegedly trying to bring back to Australia
Mark, who spoke to Radio FiveAA about the missing money, said he wasn’t expecting much to happen as Sainsbury was still behind bars in Colombia
The 22-year-old is eligible for financial assistance from the Australian Government, who can provide up to $290 an hour for eight hours a day in solicitor costs.
For senior counsel and junior counsel, the Government pays up to $3,600 and $2,640 per day respectively.
Her Bogota-based lawyer, Orlando Herran, previously told The Advertiser the funds were urgently needed so he could provide a ‘good defence’.
‘Cassie’s situation is very bad from financial, economic, social [perspective] and [from] relatives. [It is] very complicated,’ he said.
‘My defence line is to obtain the best result for Cassie but they need help from [the] Australian government for a citizen in legal problems.’
Mark said while he still pitied the dire situation Sainsbury had gotten herself into, he believed she had become ‘a completely different person’ since her time with the tennis club.
Mark told Radio 5AA Sainsbury (pictured with her boyfriend Scott) had become a ‘completely different person’ in the past two years, and was ‘not one to be trusted’
‘I still feel sorry for her as a person, being a young naive girl,’ he told the radio station.
‘In the last two years, from what I’m hearing, she’s just a completely different person and not one to be trusted.’
A spokeswoman for South Australia Police told Daily Mail Australia a report regarding money stolen from the regional tennis club had been taken, and officers were investigating.
Mark noted in the affidavit he was not holding out hope that anything would be done in the near future, considering Sainsbury’s circumstances.
‘If an opportunity arises in the future I would hope that Cassie is investigated in relation to this matter,’ he wrote.
‘I am aware Cassie is currently incarcerated in Colombia and any further investigation into her [alleged] conduct will be at the very least delayed because of her current situation.’