Tennant Creek Australia Post manager jailed for stealing $425,000 through money laundering scheme

A former Australian Post boss who stole nearly half-a-million dollars from the organisation has been sentenced to six months in prison.

Rebecca Liebelt, 37, pleaded guilty in the Northern Territory Supreme Court earlier this month to stealing cash and obtaining property by deception.

The mother-of-four was the franchisee and manager of Australia Post’s Tennant Creek branch, five hours north of Alice Springs.

Liebelt pilfered $425,000 by stealing money from the banking system at Australia Post and making fake deposits into bank accounts from March 2019 to May 2021, the court heard.

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Former Australia Post franchisee Rebecca Liebelt (pictured right with her husband Greg Liebelt)  has been sentenced to six months jail for stealing $425,000 and laundering it

She spent most of the money she took on family holidays, household goods, investments and bills.

She was charged along with her husband, livestock agent Greg Liebelt.

Mr Liebelt denies having any knowledge of the money being stolen with his charges likely to be heard at a Supreme Court trial. 

Liebelt’s scheme began in March 2019 when she made a fake $2000 deposit into a joint business account she had with her husband.

A total of 72 fake deposits were made totalling $404,749.95 that the post franchisee moved through seven personal and business accounts across four different banks.

She funnelled some of the money through the post office she worked at to avoid suspicion and unplugged her modem to avoid detection. 

The mother-of-four also stole $21,000 from the till at her work. 

Australia Post security became aware of the financial irregularities and conducted a surprise audit in January 2021. 

NT Police then launched an investigation in March of that year after a complaint was filed.

Liebelt was suspended by Australia Post in May and later terminated from her position before facing court over the charges. 

Justice Sonia Brownhill described her operation as ‘sophisticated’ as she told the court about the lengths Liebelt went to to launder the money, the NT News reported.

‘You moved the stolen funds around repeatedly and withdrew cash from ATMs across Tennant Creek, thereby overcoming the $2000 cash withdrawal limits,’ Justice Brownhill told the court.

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Liebelt was the franchisee and manager of Australia Post’s Tennant Creek branch (pictured). She laundered some of the $425,000 she stole here

Justice Brownhill said that ‘public confidence’ in Australia Post had likely been damaged because of Liebelt’s theft and fraudulent activities. 

Her former employer was awarded a default judgement, forcing Liebelt to pay back $86,478.32 on top of the money she stole and the costs of the lease. 

Liebelt was sentenced to four years and six months behind bars. However, she will be placed on home detention after serving six months jail. 

During home detention, she will need to wear a monitoring bracelet and be regularly tested for drugs and alcohol.

If she does not reoffend in the next three years, her sentence will be suspended.