Whitireia Polytechnic has joined a long list of tertiary education providers whose student associations have had problems.

Some cases have resulted in jail time for offenders.

In 2009, Christchurch Polytechnic Students’ Associations’ former office manager, Helen Lenihan, got a 22-month sentence after defrauding $175,000 over five years. Only $50,000 was recovered.

Brenda McQuillan, once president of Nelson Polytechnic Student Association, admitted stealing $8004 in December, 1999, to help feed her gambling addiction.

The former office manager of the Massey Students Association, Florence Bailey, was sentenced to a jail term of two years and three months in November, 2003, after stealing $203,000 of student money.

It was reported at the time that Bailey was elected to the students association despite previous fraud convictions. No background check was completed before she began her position.

In 2005, Otago University’s Maori students association, Te Roopu Maori, collapsed after it was alleged about $21,000 was suspiciously missing from the accounts.

At Victoria University, student association member Clelia Opie spent $6000 on psychic hotlines in 2007.

The association was further criticised the following year for spending $22,000 on doing up a van, without initial authorisation by the association executive.

In November, 2005, Victoria student association rep Wi Nepia was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to prison for two years and three months.

The presiding judge in that case concluded that between 2001 and 2003, $161,000 was defrauded from the Maori Students’ Association to fund Wi Nepia’s gambling addiction.

He was released on parole after serving a third of his sentence.

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