The wife of former St George Illawarra Dragons winger Reece Simmonds has fronted court accused of misappropriating hundred of thousands of dollars from a Shellharbour-based child care business.
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Mother-of-three Belinda Simmonds is facing 35 dishonesty charges stemming from a lengthy police investigation into allegations she fleeced more than $330,000 money from her employer, Shellharbour Kiama Family Day Care, from 2013 to 2018.
Court documents allege Simmonds overpaid herself in wages and annual leave entitlements in four consecutive financial years, and used money from the day care centre's bank account to buy dozens of personal and household items including Botox, laser hair removal, holiday accommodation, a $2,500 lounge, Lorna Jane exercise clothing and dance lessons for her children.
It is alleged Simmonds carried out the scam by accessing the day care's financial accounts and transferring company funds into her own bank accounts.
She is also alleged to have used her employer's money to pay Nicole and Demi McGregor, the wife and daughter of Dragons coach Paul McGregor, $620 and $291 respectively during 2017. The police charge sheets did not detail what the payments were for other than "personal reasons".
The Mercury does not suggest Reece Simmonds or Nicole or Demi McGregor had any knowledge of, involvement in, the alleged fraud.
Meanwhile, Simmonds was charged by detectives in December last year. She entered pleas of not guilty to all of the charges during her first court appearance, with police ordered to begin serving the brief of evidence on her legal team. The case will return to court in April.
Simmonds is married to Reece Simmonds, who played 48 first grade games for the Dragons between 2002 and 2006 followed by a season with the Rabbitohs in 2007.
According to his Wikipedia page, Reece Simmonds worked as a coal-miner between 2008 and 2010 while playing for Collegians and Wests Illawarra before making a brief re-appearance in the Dragons' first-grade side in 2011. He went on to coach the Wests Red Devils in the Illawarra League and more recently Collegians.
Some of the allegations:
*$4950 - payment of Telstra bills
*$3880 - accommodation at Tingarra Resorts
*$1103 - purchase of dryer, kettle and toaster at The Good Guys, Warrawong
*$1918 - three chairs and bench at Freedom Furniture, Warrawong
*$570 - purchase of Isagenix products
*$1101 - Botox, laser hair removal from Laser Clinics Shellharbour
*$3903 - Clothing from Lorna Jane
*$350 - dance lessons
*$615 - payment of school fees
*$2556 - new lounge from Harvey Norman, Warrawong
*$4600 - payment of personal loan to Lion Finance
Read more court news here.