A senior manager at the Auckland District Health Board has been sentenced for his part in stealing thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money, some of which was used to pay for his daughter’s birthday party. Stephen John Paterson, 47, and a security guard stole thousands of health funds while Paterson was the commercial services manager at the ADHB and responsible for signing off invoices. He had worked at the ADHB for 21 years, first as an orderly, before being suspended in 2012 and leaving in 2013 following an internal investigation into his offending. Paterson was charged and found guilty by a jury earlier this year of theft, dishonestly using a document, and causing loss by deception. Judge Mary-Beth Sharp sentenced him to community detention and community work when he appeared in the Auckland District Court today.
