A Brisbane mother-of-five could be deported to New Zealand after her bid to keep up with the Jones landed her in jail for fraud and forgery offences.

September 30, 2019

A Brisbane mother, who felt so much pressure to keep up with other football mums that she committed thousands of dollars worth of fraud and forgery offences, is facing deportation after being jailed.

New Zealand citizen Hunter Louise Lehauli, 38, cried as she was sentenced to four years and three months in prison after admitting to 19 dishonesty offences over a five-month period in 2018.

These included hiring hotel rooms during a football tournament but failing to pay for them and defrauding members of her local church, the Brisbane District Court heard on Monday.

Prosecutor Carla Ahern says the mother-of-five also used Gumtree to advertise a room at a home she wasn’t authorised to lease, which fraudulently generated $11,380 worth of rent and bond payments.

On another occasion, Lehauli booked a pamper-day at a hotel under the guise she had a terminally-ill sister but didn’t pay for the “large number of goods and services” used, she said.

In total, the court heard Lehauli netted $127,336.25 worth of goods, services and money, which she told police was used to “impress women in her son’s football club and pay school fees and rent”.

“The defendant targeted a number of people and companies and obtained a significant quantity of cash, services and goods,” Ms Ahern said.

Justice Nathan Jarro says Lehauli’s offending was impulsive and irresponsible.

“You did it in part to impress your friends at the church and football club, as well as pay gambling debts,” he said.

Lehauli will be eligible for parole after serving 14 months, which may lead to her deportation for poor character under section 501 of the Migration Act in 2014.

The court heard that despite migrating to Australia in 2004 and having four of her five children here, Lehauli had not secured citizenship.