A former Coles executive has admitted stealing $1.9 million (US$1.29 million) from the national supermarket giant, but a judge said his offending was so inexplicable and stupid he must undergo further psychiatric testing.
County Court Judge Duncan Allen expressed shock that Aaron Baslangic never tried to cover his tracks, had no grand plans about what to do with the funds and most of it was left languishing in a bank account until he was caught.
As a finance executive at Coles Online, Baslangic could authorise payments up to $75,000 and, in early 2019, orchestrated 14 illegal payments.
They ranged from $10,000 to more than $400,000, and when payments were above his approved limit, he altered emails to make it appear his supervisor approved the transfers….