The former head of the Immigration Service has been fined $10,000 for falsely claiming she had a PhD from the London School of Economics.
Mary Anne Thompson, 55, was sentenced in Wellington District Court on Friday, after earlier pleading guilty to one charge of using a document with intent to defraud. She was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of community work.
Crown prosecuter Grant Burston said Thompson's offending was serious because it had struck at the heart of public service integrity.
Thompson's lawyer, Robert Lithgow, QC, said his client had many obligations, including a large household, and had suffered financially through losing her job.
Judge Bruce Davidson said he believed Thompson still had a lot to contribute to the community and there was nothing to suggest she needed to falsify her qualifications to get the job she did.
