A former account executive at Telstra has been sentenced to three years imprisonment after stealing more than $250,000 worth of hardware.
According to reports, Jaime Guan Neoh took a total of 263 mobile phones, 13 tablets, four electronic devices and a tablet case and then resold or gave out the items as gifts.
The sentence was handed down at Perth's District Court in June and Neoh will be eligible for parole after serving 18 months.
Reports say that in a matter of nine months, Neoh had entered purchase requests under the name of two Telstra customers: oil and gas exploration company Tap Oil Ltd and IT services provider Swift Technology.
In total, the stolen devices added up to a value of $256,466. Of this amount, reports say that $231,054 had been entered under Swift Technology.
Telstra have made no comment on the case.
The thefts reportedly occurred between January and September 2014. Neoh placed the orders through his sales team, by telephone, on the internet and by other means. Reports say he even instructed a junior staff member to create a second account in the name of an existing customer and changed the details later.
It was only when Tap oil requested to terminate its contract with Telstra and a negative balance related to a loyalty program appeared that internal investigations ensued.
2016 has proved a trying time for the telecommunications company with its employees. Telstra confirmed the departure of its chief technology officer, Vish Nandlall, in May amid an allegation the senior executive's resume contained false information.
