Paulette Main

Paulette Main, a former Family Court lawyer from Tauranga, was imprisoned for three years after being convicted of defrauding the Ministry of Justice's Family Legal Advice Service by making over 1,200 false claims for legal support related to her clients. Her actions breached the trust placed in her as a lawyer, as she used the personal details of clients, some of whom had never engaged her services, to submit fraudulent claims totaling over $72,000. Despite her previous contributions to the legal field, her mental health issues and a traumatic brain injury were noted during her trial, although they did not excuse her actions.