Sacked SA govt CIO pleads guilty to fraud

The sacked former chief information officer of South Australia’s Department of Premier and Cabinet has pleaded guilty to fraud and deception charges.

Veronica Theriault was dismissed last September after only seven weeks in the job over alleged dishonesty in relation to her job application and abuse of public office. 

She allegedly faked a resume that claimed prior employment at several large technology firms, as well as a number of university degrees, to secure the $245,000 per annum job.

Theriault was subsequently charged following an investigation into her job application late last year.

Appearing at Adelaide’s magistrates court on Thursday via video link from Perth, she pleaded guilty to two counts of deceiving another to benefit self, one count of dishonest dealings with documents, and one count of public officer exercise power to secure benefit.

She is scheduled to appear in the state’s District Court on August 28 for arraignment alongside her brother Alan Hugh Melville Corkill, who also pleaded guilty to deception and agreeing to accept a benefit.

Corkill was reportedly hired by Theriault into a "service integration team leader" while she was employed at the DPC.

The department has subsequently restructured the CIO position and appointed Abhishek Singh to the role of chief technology officer - a return to its 2015 structure.

An inquiry into the department's hiring practices was also initiated by the then-chief executive Dr Don Russell.