Danika Lena had just finished university and was working as a legal secretary in inner-city Sydney when she began the criminal activity that has finally landed her in court: defrauding Macquarie Bank of a staggering $1.3 million.
She used the cash to build a luxury wardrobe and fund an equally lavish lifestyle, spending a total of $547,000 on designer clothes between 2010 and 2015, the Daily Telegraph reports.
That included spending $180,000 at David Jones, $36,000 at Myer, $60,000 at Scanlan & Theodore and $280,000 at high fashion houses including Prada, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Sass & Bide and Pierre Haddad Hair.
She also blew $140,000 on taxis, Ubers and parking fees.
It’s alleged the 26-year-old Sydney woman began submitting forms to have money withdrawn in other people’s names but filled out her own bank details, according to the Daily Telegraph. She started small, withdrawing a relatively meagre $5000 at a time, but “quickly grew bolder”, according to police. Her single biggest withdrawal was a whopping $116,000.
All up, Lena spent just over $1.3 million in cash over five years, illegally obtained from legal trust accounts at Macquarie Bank.
She will face Downing Centre Court on June 21 on fraud charges against Macquarie Bank.
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